Chapter 167: Hard to Guard Against Hidden Arrows

Zui Xianju, private room.

The food smelled fragrant, and melodious guqin music drifted past his ears.

This was one of the top three taverns in Qinghe County; Li Rui had been here a few times and rated it: the food was worth ten taels, the music a hundred taels—you paid for the ambiance.

"Old Brother Li, Old Brother Zhao, let's drink one?"

Ge Hong raised his wine cup first.

Li Rui and Captain Zhao chuckled and drained their cups in one gulp.

The wine slid down in a single fiery line.

The burning sensation made Captain Zhao grimace; he picked up a slice of roasted deer meat and said, "Old Brother Li, Old Brother Ge, the matter's been cleared up."

"Spill it."

Ge Hong had been obsessed with this matter; it had kept him awake and appetiteless for days.

He urged impatiently.

If someone really set a trap for him, that day had been dangerously close to disaster.

Captain Zhao put down his chopsticks and tapped the table with his right index finger: "It was adultery."

Upon hearing the words "adultery,"

Li Rui and Ge Hong both narrowed their eyes slightly.

"I checked: Li Yangshi was involved with Ma San three months ago. Many neighbors know it—it's no secret."

Ge Hong's veins bulged instantly.

Now it was certain: someone was trying to destroy him.

All that talk of rape? It was just an affair.

If he'd killed Ma San that day, and Li Yangshi then turned on him, with someone behind the scenes stoking the fire, he might've been forced to resign under pressure.

His career would've been over.

"What a vicious heart!"

He wasn't afraid of real blades—hidden daggers concealed in ordinary things were the hardest to guard against.

Captain Zhao continued: "To avoid alerting the enemy, I haven't interrogated Li Yangshi yet. The mastermind remains unknown. What do you two think we should do?"

"Thank you, Old Brother Zhao."

No wonder he was a professional—his methods were always cautious.

Ge Hong bowed.

Then he turned to Li Rui: "Old Brother Li, what's your take?"

Li Rui paused, then said: "Old Brother Zhao, punish Ma San under military law—don't hold back. Whether he lives or dies is up to his fate."

One thing at a time.

Ma San was indeed framed, but he had consorted with the wife of a soldier—a violation of military law.

Yu Kingdom's military code stipulates that families of soldiers deployed to the frontier must be treated well.

This includes forbidding adultery—even initiating it is forbidden, to maintain morale at the front.

Ma San's case warrants thirty military lashes without question.

"As for Li Yangshi, she's just a woman. Once she hears Ma San is dead, she'll contact her handler. We can try to lure out the bigger fish."

Ge Hong's eyes lit up—baiting a fish!

"Brilliant plan."

He never intended to spare Ma San anyway.

Li Rui's move would not only satisfy his vengeance but also let them trace the mastermind.

Two birds with one stone!

With Li Rui and Ge Hong's approval,

Ma San's fate was inevitable—he was beaten so badly his buttocks were shredded; he didn't even survive ten lashes, choked on his breath, and died.

To put it plainly,

military lashes weren't ordinary sticks—they were spiked clubs, studded with thorns like wolf teeth.

Not to mention thirty lashes—one strike would split skin and flesh, half-dead already.

That's why soldiers often said: "Record the lashes, earn merit through service."

If you took the full punishment, you couldn't even stand, let alone fight on the battlefield.

Ma San's death

stunned the old soldiers who thought they'd seen every kind of corruption—they never expected Li Rui, so cunning and shrewd, to be a man of righteousness.

Soon,

the news reached Li Yangshi's ears.

That night,

Li Yangshi, a mere woman, heard Ma San was dead and grew frantic, unable to sit still.

She didn't leave home all day, pacing back and forth endlessly.

By evening, after putting her son to sleep, she slipped out quietly under cover of darkness.

Moments later,

she arrived at the bridge beneath the willow tree, a mile from her home, and whispered: "Sir… Sir?"

She called for a long time.

A man in black, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, appeared silently behind her without warning.

Li Yangshi turned and nearly collided with him; she screamed in fright, trembling: "Sir, Ma San's dead—but he didn't die at Ge Hong's hands!"

A few days ago,

this man approached her, promising a vast reward if she followed his instructions.

Enough to live comfortably for generations.

A woman like her, hearing such wealth was possible, gritted her teeth and agreed.

Through his arrangement, she infiltrated Anning Guard and waited along Ma San's daily training route, looking for a chance to escalate the situation.

Her task: make a certain Officer Ge kill Ma San.

At first, everything went smoothly.

But at the critical moment, an old man ruined it.

She knew exactly what she'd done—Ma San wasn't a good man—but what she wanted wasn't justice?

She wanted silver!

After returning home, she'd been anxious, terrified the plot would be exposed.

Only when she heard Ma San was dead did she dare contact the man.

The man in the hat chuckled: "You did well. I'll pay you."

Li Yangshi rejoiced.

She hadn't expected to get paid even though she'd failed.

But in the next instant, her smile froze.

A flash of cold light darted from the man's fingers.

A silver needle pierced her forehead; without struggle, the poison surged into her heart, and she collapsed lifeless.

"Whore—you failed your task and still expect payment?"

"Dream on!"

The man sneered, glancing contemptuously at Li Yangshi's corpse—no blood spilled.

Once the body was dragged away, not a trace would remain.

Clearly, the man was an old hand at this.

"She has a son at home… can't leave him alive!"

The man's eyes flashed with cold intent.

Since framing Ge Hong had failed, he had to erase all traces to prevent Ge Hong from tracing the trail.

He was about to drag Li Yangshi's body away

when suddenly—

a slender, glinting blade slashed diagonally from his right rear.

The man's pupils contracted sharply:

"Willow Leaf Blade!"

At the same time, a voice rang out from behind: "Damn it! You dare target me? Eat this!"

=9+shu_ba

The slash was ferocious.

The man's cultivation was inferior to Ge Hong's—only eighth rank—and his arm was instantly severed by Ge Hong's Willow Leaf Blade.

He gritted his teeth, trying to leap into the Qing River below and flee.

But Li Rui, leaping from beneath the willow tree, kicked him back.

Ge Hong's hands clamped down like eagle talons, pinning the man in place—no blade used, to prevent suicide.

"Old Brother Li, you truly see through everything!"

He grinned, eyes gleaming with excitement.

He only wanted to know who was behind this, and why they wanted to ruin him.

Li Rui's face revealed no expression.

He had done all this, seemingly helping Ge Hong, but in fact helping himself.

A few days ago.

Through his Insight Eye, he noticed the smoke suddenly turn red.

He had already been alert then, reducing his outings significantly; this morning, upon hearing from Liang He about Li Yang's affair, he sensed something suspicious and rushed over immediately.

Only then did he uncover what had happened afterward.

He suspected the person setting the trap intended to target not just Ge Hong, but also him.

Grab this man.

The red hue of the smoke had faded slightly, further confirming his suspicion.

"Speak. I'll let you die quickly."

A sneer flickered at the man's lips.

The next instant, his head slumped to one side.

Ge Hong didn't even know what had happened until he saw black blood oozing from the man's lips, and only then did he check his breath.

Dead.

Li Rui chuckled: "A real man—he hid poison inside his body, activated it with Shu Gu Gong. Impossible to guard against."

Ge Hong frowned.

Clearly.

This man was a trained death agent; who else would be this ruthless toward himself? Everyone prefers to live, however poorly.

His face darkened: "Brother Li, now the trail's gone. What do we do?"

Li Rui crouched down.

Calmly searched the man's body for clues.

Ge Hong frowned: "Brother Li, this man was ready to die—he probably left no trace on his person."

He had ample martial world experience and knew how ruthless such death agents could be toward themselves.

Li Rui said nothing.

He silently and carefully searched, and after a long while, found a short dagger hidden beneath the man's shoe sole.

"Hidden dagger in the shoe sole—quite devious."

Ge Hong raised an eyebrow.

Fortunately, his martial skill far surpassed this man's; otherwise, he might have been caught off guard.

"Brother Li, what's special about this dagger?"

Li Rui stood up, holding the dagger: "Possibly something. Can't say yet. Let's take all the bodies back to the guard battalion."

"What about this woman?"

"Mm."

Li Rui nodded. The day's events had been discreet; taking the bodies away might buy them more time before the enemy discovered and severed the trail.

The blacksmith's shop was bustling with activity.

The middle-aged man was hammering fiercely on a glowing red piece of divine iron.

"I'm back."

He turned his head.

Saw an familiar old man.

"Master Li! You've come!"

The middle-aged man recognized Li Rui and beamed with joy.

Li Rui smiled: "Last time I left in a hurry—I never asked your name."

The burly man scratched his head, grinning: "I'm Liu Tiezhu."

"Tiezhu—good name."

Liu Tiezhu knew his name wasn't impressive, but since it was given by his parents, he had no intention of changing it: "Master Li, are you here to buy weapons again?"

Li Rui shook his head.

He pulled a dagger from his sleeve: "I'd like you to examine it—see where it came from."

Liu Tiezhu took the dagger, studied it for a long while.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"Master Li, may I melt this dagger down?"

Li Rui nodded: "Do as you wish."

With Li Rui's permission, Liu Tiezhu eagerly placed the dagger into the furnace; soon, the intense heat turned it glowing red.

Liu Tiezhu bent over, watching with unprecedented intensity.

A full quarter-hour passed.

Only then did he straighten up and declare firmly: "This dagger uses two materials—one is Xuan Jin Iron, common enough; the other is far rarer—Blood Ice Crystal. It's found only in Nanliang. I've only heard of it from senior masters."

Nanliang

Li Rui's eyes narrowed slightly.

What a coincidence—the Zhuang family was in Nanliang, and the County Magistrate of Qinghe was surnamed Zhuang!

(End of Chapter)