Chapter 251

'Targeting the Eight Major Sects exclusively?'

Hearing Xu Wen's words, Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

In his younger days, he had traveled with the Zhu family's caravans many times.

Everyone says caravans fear bandits, but bandits fear caravans too.

Do you think all caravans are helpless merchants?

No.

Almost every caravan hires high-paid martial masters as guards.

Unless there's a vast gap in cultivation, actual combat is never certain—who's life is free to take? Bandits want money, not to die every day.

Generally speaking.

Caravans pay a peace silver, just to keep harmony profitable; bandits gladly earn without fighting, and some righteous ones even escort them for a stretch.

Picking the hardest persimmons to squeeze?

These bandits clearly aren't after wealth.

Xu Wen lowered his voice: 'Brother Li, take your time investigating this. I heard the cargo from this Changkong Assembly includes private goods from other Elders; the man has some backing, but he's at odds with Elder Sun. Elder Sun, constrained by influence, turned to Magistrate Yan.'

Li Rui's lips curled into a smile:

'Magistrate Xu, thank you for the insight.'

He'd already sensed something off.

When did the Eight Major Sects in the city become so obedient?

Their own caravan was robbed, yet instead of taking men and cutting down the bandits themselves, their first thought was to report it.

Truly a strange affair.

Now, with Xu Wen's explanation, it was clear.

No wonder Yan Zhongxing could become head of the Weiheshimao Office, and Elder Sun could serve as Changkong Assembly's chief in Qinghe.

Both perfectly embody: when it's official business, treat it as official business.

Yan Zhongxing appears swift and decisive, but it's all theater.

The marketplace is crowded with eyes; Changkong Assembly surely has people there.

This scene will surely reach the ears of Elder Sun's powerful patron; if the matter can be resolved, it will be; if not, at least they've tried.

Just performance.

Xu Wen then chatted with Li Rui for a long while.

Seeing Li Rui truly didn't care, he finally left satisfied.

Soon.

The room was left with only Li Rui alone, his body resting in shadow.

'Coincidence?'

'Won't show himself?'

The county magistrate's inner courtyard.

Zhuang Renhe squinted slightly.

'Yes, we deliberately exposed our trail, but Li Rui refused to take the bait—only sent a few men to investigate. To avoid alerting them, we've held off on acting against the Anning Guard.'

A lean man said.

He was Zhuang Renhe's confidant and the leader of the bandits outside the city.

'Fine, I understand.'

'Then stir up more noise—I refuse to believe he won't leave the city.'

A flash of cold light passed through Zhuang Renhe's eyes.

'Yes.'

The lean man shouted, then turned and left.

The room was left with only Zhuang Renhe, his expression shifting between dark and light.

'Could he have sensed something?'

'Impossible.'

'He's not a god—he can't avoid fate. He's just lazy, unwilling to act.'

'But whether he leaves the city or not isn't up to him!'

Zhuang Renhe's nostrils flared slightly, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

To obtain immortal qi, he must first capture Li Rui alive; once he has Li Rui, he has no fewer than thirty ways to make him speak.

Li Rui, as Anning Guard's Trade Captain, cannot be touched within the city—others would suspect.

But outside the city, especially on the official road, it's different.

Call it death in the line of duty.

A Trade Captain, killed defending trade between two nations by assassins from Wu State.

Doesn't that sound reasonable?

Then, with no body left, Zhuang Renhe could visit Li Rui's memorial tomb, even petition for a stele honoring his loyalty and bravery.

Too bad Li Rui reportedly has no children—if he did, his blessings might extend for a hundred years, protecting his descendants.

Thinking this way, it's almost kind.

Then Zhuang Renhe could also gain another bureaucratic merit from the imperial court.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Zhuang Renhe, imagining what he would soon gain, felt a faint thrill.

'Immortal qi.'

'Master, Elder Shi from Shenbing Manor requests an audience.'

'Refuse.'

'Master, Magistrate Yan from the Weiheshimao Office is here.'

'I've suffered qi deviation in cultivation—can't receive visitors.'

'Master...'

Wang Zhao didn't know how many times people had come seeking Li Rui; the threshold of Li Rui's residence in the Anning Guard was nearly worn down, the scene livelier than New Year's visits.

Even those who announced their names were major powers.

Not counting the minor sects.

'Master, General Cao wishes to see you.'

Li Rui paused, then said: 'Bring General Cao in.'

Not long after.

Wang Zhao led Cao Wei into the room.

Cao Wei stood with hands behind his back, smirking at Li Rui, pale and lying on the bed.

He squinted slightly.

'So you really suffered qi deviation—Li Daoren, your cultivation timing is impeccable.'

These past days,

Everyone seeking Li Rui had come here; clearing bandits and securing trade routes was the Anning Guard's duty, and as its commander, he naturally had to inquire.

Li Rui struggled weakly to rise.

But his strength failed him.

'Xiao Zhao, help me up.'

Wang Zhao moved to assist, but Cao Wei stopped him: 'Li Daoren suffered qi deviation—no need for formalities.'

Cao Wei's lips curled:

'Li Daoren, I originally came to discuss the bandits outside the city.'

Too many people had come knocking—even Magistrate Yan Zhongxing had visited personally—he had to give some explanation.

Li Rui coughed twice:

'General Cao need not worry—I've contacted Elder Dao of Wu State; these bandits are fugitives from Wu. Elder Dao will handle them.'

Hearing Li Rui's words,

Cao Wei's expression softened slightly.

Faking illness wouldn't work on him.

Not even if Li Rui were Jiang Lin's man—nor would it work for Feng Yu or Guan Xinrong.

The Anning Guard isn't some feeble civil bureaucracy.

There's no rule that illness excuses duty; the Anning Guard is an army, and wherever it stands is a battlefield.

On a battlefield, even a broken leg must still fight.

'Since Li Daoren already has a plan, then it's settled.'

Cao Wei nodded, satisfied.

He hadn't deliberately harassed Li Rui because of factional differences.

Whether Li Rui's qi deviation was coincidence or deliberate didn't matter.

The key was—if he did nothing, who would? Should he, as Assistant Regional Commander, handle it himself?

Li Rui didn't act himself, but used connections to get stronger hands—Elder Dao—to act instead; regardless of whether it succeeds, at least he did something.

Use the Knife to Kill

Whether you can succeed is a matter of ability.

But if you never even think of a solution, that's a matter of attitude.

Attitude matters greatly.

Although Cao Wei is the superior officer, he cannot handle every task himself—he needs his subordinates to work diligently.

"Alright, then I won't disturb Senior Li's rest any longer."

Li Rui smiled: "Xiao Zhao, see Senior Cao out." "Yes."

Moments later.

Wang Zhao returned.

He blinked his eyes; though he wasn't good at reading people's expressions, he could clearly sense that Senior Cao had arrived with fierce intent, as if ready to demand accountability, but left in noticeably better spirits.

"Master, was Senior Cao just here to cause you trouble?"

Wang Zhao voiced his doubt.

"Trouble? More than that."

Li Rui chuckled: "He came to charge me with a crime."

"Charge you with a crime!"

Wang Zhao was stunned—he hadn't expected that beneath the surface calm between Li Rui and Cao Wei, the stakes had been so dangerous.

Original text in view!

"Alright, Xiao Zhao, if anyone else comes, don't let them in."

"Yes, Master."

After giving the order.

Li Rui closed his eyes and lay back on the bed.

The creak of the door closing echoed in his ears.

The room quickly returned to its previous silence.

Feigning illness might work well for ordinary soldiers—if the squad leader doesn't press too hard, it's enough to fool them.

But at the officer level, things are different.

As long as you're not dead, they'll drag you right up.

If you're caught faking illness, you'll face military punishment—no leniency like with civil officials.

So Li Rui's qi deviation is real.

When suppressing the blade's corruption, he deliberately left a trace behind, originally planning to use it later for feigning illness—he never expected to need it so soon.

Otherwise, Cao Wei wouldn't have left so easily today.

Besides, he had to give Cao Wei a face-saving excuse—or rather, a pretext.

After all, Cao Wei needed to account for something to others.

Had he missed even one of these steps, Cao Wei would have dragged him right off his sickbed today.

In a void of nothingness.

A crimson mist stood out sharply.

"So who is it?"

Li Rui chose qi deviation over leaving the city precisely because his Insight warned him.

Coupled with all the recent events.

He was nearly certain someone was deliberately luring him out of the city.

The only question was: who?

With enemy intentions unclear, acting rashly now would be foolish—Li Rui's task was to wait.

Wait for the enemy to reveal themselves.

The more the enemy wanted him to do something, the less he would do it.

Since they wanted him to leave the city, he would refuse to leave even the Peace Guard compound.

Let's just stall.

After all, Li Rui had no pressing need to go out right now.

Thinking this.

Unconsciously.

He fell into a deep sleep, and when he opened his eyes again, he stood atop the Dreaming Yuntai.

The Immortal Blade was already in his hand.

Li Rui found that practicing with the Immortal Blade helped clarify his thoughts, so he habitually used it.

"Dual Form Fusion—attack and defense seamless."

He pondered.

Possessing Dual Forms was a tremendous advantage: Dragon Form for offense, Immortal Form for defense. Previously, he trained them separately; now with time to spare, he wanted to integrate both into his techniques, giving him greater odds in combat.

His body moved with the blade.

Li Rui swung each strike with excruciating slowness.

Or rather, with meticulous care, fearing even the tiniest deviation.

It looked like an old man's morning exercise—utterly devoid of lethal force.

This process lasted two full hours.

The speed of Li Rui's blade increased so gradually it was nearly imperceptible to the eye, until after two hours, it matched the pace of an ordinary martial artist.

As the number of swings increased.

The Immortal Blade gradually blurred into an afterimage, like a blazing fire enveloping him, faintly revealing a fire dragon coiling and dancing!

Gradually.

Li Rui's swordplay grew increasingly chaotic, as if he had gone mad.

He gradually abandoned defense.

The blade swung like a great hammer, striking the void before him—each blow made the Dreaming Yuntai tremble.

If Tie Kuang were here, he would recognize it instantly.

Li Rui was clearly evolving his Hammer Qi Art.

Correct.

He intended to fuse the essence of the Hammer Qi Art into his swordplay.

With the Immortal Form within him, Li Rui's defense far surpassed ordinary martial artists—a tremendous advantage that must be maximized.

The initial slowness.

Was to build momentum.

Using the transformed sword intent of the Hammer Qi Art to draw in the opponent, then, when the intent reached a critical mass, releasing it like a flood—abandoning defense, crushing all resistance.

By the time the enemy realized something was wrong.

It was already too late.

Li Rui's high talent became evident.

Other martial artists could only rigidly practice the forms taught to them; he could flexibly adapt his own strengths and combine his learned techniques to forge the most suitable art for himself.

In this way.

He could gain decisive advantage against opponents of the same realm.

Killing isn't about overwhelming power—it's about accumulating tiny advantages.

Li Rui disliked fighting.

But when he did fight, he had to ensure the dead man wasn't himself.

Otherwise, if he was dead, what use was immortality?

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

Night. The blacksmith's shop.

"Old Tie, you sleep hugging that blade every night—don't you find it uncomfortable?"

Liu Tiezhu glanced at Tie Kuang.

Ever since the Immortal Blade emerged, Tie Kuang never let it out of his sight—not even more than his own wife.

Tie Kuang rolled his eyes:

"You don't understand a thing—it's called tempering."

Liu Tiezhu didn't believe a word of it; to this country bumpkin, it was just an old man with a young wife—he couldn't bear to let go.

Tempering a hammer.

He'd tried to touch the Immortal Blade several times, only to be scolded by Old Tie.

So now that the Immortal Blade had appeared, even the one who helped forge it couldn't touch it?

It was infuriating.

"By the way, Old Tie, what are you going to name this blade?"

Ever since he'd started calling him "Old Tie," he'd found it more natural, so he kept using it—Tie Kuang never asked him to change.

"Name it..."

For the first time, Tie Kuang looked hesitant.

He was a master at forging iron and fighting, but his education was lacking—he feared naming it something insufficiently majestic would disgrace the Immortal Blade, so he'd never dared to name it.

As the two sat chatting on the stone steps of the blacksmith's shop.

A man in a black robe approached.

Liu Tiezhu grew alert: "Who is it?!"

Just as he was about to rise and confront him, the man in the black robe removed his hood, revealing his face.

When he saw who it was, Liu Tiezhu was startled.

"Master?"

Li Rui did not look at Liu Tiezhu, but solemnly turned his gaze toward Tie Kuang.

"Elder, I wish to borrow your blade."

(End of Chapter)