Chapter 326: then translation of title

Yuanrong crossbow?

Yuanrong crossbow?!

What is this?

Only three words, yet they genuinely piqued Liu Ji's curiosity.

Although Liu Ji had never studied anything, he had also secretly learned a few characters outside the school; following the notes on the paper, he flicked the trigger with his fingertip, disassembling, reassembling, and stringing it, his movements smooth and swift, and in a moment he had assembled this exquisite Yuanrong crossbow.

This crossbow is far more compact than a standard infantry bow‑crossbow, yet its structure is precise, concealing ingenuity; the sinew bowstring is taut and gleaming, the iron bolt's groove is neat and orderly, hiding lethal power.

Liu Ji's heart stirred; he raised his hand level, aiming at a thick old pagoda tree by the road, and lightly flicked the trigger with his fingertip—

"Whoosh!"

A short, sharp tearing-through-air sound exploded, its force far surpassing that of ordinary arrows, its speed too fast for the naked eye to discern.

The jet‑black iron bolt arrived in an instant, viciously embedding itself into the thick tree trunk.

With a muffled "pfft", the tree shuddered violently, and leaves rustled down.

That arrow's force was overwhelming, piercing straight through seven‑tenths of the tree; most of the iron bolt sank deep into the wood, leaving only a short tip of the fletching exposed, firmly lodged in the trunk—a shocking sight.

The whole scene fell dead silent in an instant; all the brothers stared, mouths agape, faces full of shock.

Ordinary bow‑crossbows at most break skin and flesh or shallowly embed in a tree trunk; this terrifying power to pierce seven‑tenths of wood is simply horrifying to hear.

Liu Ji gripped the cool crossbow body, his fingertip gliding over the precise mechanism; the laziness in his eyes vanished completely, a sudden chill rose in his heart, and in an instant he saw through all of Du Shanü's calculations.

She let him return to the city and gave him the merchant‑route booklet, appearing to be 'letting the tiger go back to the mountain', her foolish moves frequent......

But this Yuanrong crossbow hidden in her pouch is her true attitude.

This is a gift, and more so a deterrent.

She was clearly telling him——

She possesses such divine weapons, and has foundations and strength far beyond his imagination.

If he obediently follows her orders and works for her, silver and future prospects will all be his.

But if he harbors dissent, dares to renege and cause chaos, refusing to obey her orders......

Such a terrifying lethal weapon will one day be aimed at him and his brothers, becoming a deadly blade hanging over Horizontal City and Pure City!

This woman, she actually harbors such terrifying scheming!

After realizing this, Liu Ji's earlier smile at the corner of his mouth completely vanished, and he no longer had the air of certainty he had just moments before.

The brothers riding with him were the first to sense something amiss, both excited and doubtful, saying:

"Big brother, where did you pull this treasure from?"

"Could it be that the good thing you mentioned earlier is this very item? This item is indeed ingeniously crafted, but as a single formidable weapon, its useful applications are truly limited......"

Limited.

Of course it's limited.

Because this isn't meant for him to use; it's purely to intimidate him!

Such a marvel of craftsmanship, how could there possibly be only one?

In the opponent's hands, there are likely hundreds, even thousands......

The Zhoufu is surely extremely wealthy; who knows, their stock of Yuanrong crossbows might even reach nearly ten thousand!

In that case, wouldn't all his earlier guesses be wrong?!

What 'letting the tiger go back to the mountain', what 'at the end of one's rope'......

Actually, they're all fake.

Only probing is real.

In a single breath, Liu Ji recalled the dim dungeon and that woman's faint smile on her lips.

Before, he didn't think much of it, even feeling it was mockery; now, upon reflection, it is clearly the true inevitability of victory.

She seemed like a lofty player manipulating the chessboard, interestingly handing him a booklet that looked like a smooth road.

When she handed over that booklet, she might already have known he had a rebellious streak, and that he planned to use the booklet to pull off a solo heist and swallow......

Yet she still watched with keen interest as he accepted the booklet, seeing him off as he rode away......

However, however.

How could someone like her possibly fail to calculate everything that would follow?!

She definitely calculated it!

She definitely calculated it!

Once he reveals his rebellious streak, she will bring hundreds, even thousands of soldiers wielding Yuanrong crossbows to encircle the two cities of Horizontal and Pure!

By then, the fault for hijacking the merchant ship will lie on him, and the contraband will also be in his hands......

If the owners of the looted goods come looking, they will naturally only seek trouble from him.

Wait a moment.

Wait a moment.

Seek trouble for him?!

Liu Ji's mind paused slightly; suddenly, as if recalling something, he instantly snapped awake, and once again fiercely pulled out the small booklet he had hidden in his chest.

The booklet was still the same booklet, but this time Liu Ji examined the records of the ship owners or cargo owners more carefully.

Before, when he hastily took it over, he had only glanced at it a few times, taking it for an ordinary convoy roster; now, calming his mind and reading line by line, the hidden secrets were fully exposed before his eyes.

The several north‑south merchant fleets recorded in the booklet appeared to be civilian private traders, yet behind the ship owners and cargo owners, not a single one was an ordinary commoner; they were all officials from the Yongzhou area.

Liu Ji's gaze swept quickly over the records, his heart growing colder——

【First river‑transport fleet, the shipowner is a Qiongzhou garrison quartermaster, his ships year‑round carry grain and silk along the main river route.

Second land‑based merchant convoy, belonging to the Guangzhou Prefecture deputy patrol officer, mainly dealing in ironware, leather military supplies, and enjoying official road passage privileges along the way.

The third ocean-going galley squad is the private property of a professor of the Guangzhou Prefecture Academy, carrying books, brushes, ink, and rare medicinal herbs; it appears refined and uncontroversial, but in fact it has four or five inland river barges as escort, and the main ship has an extremely deep draft.

There is also a short-distance transfer caravan; the person behind it is unknown, possibly a tax official from some prefecture, specializing in various local specialty goods......】

Each caravan has orderly goods and a clearly marked origin.

Indeed......

They are all official ships.

After a brief moment of study, Liu Ji's hairs stood on end all over, and he thoroughly saw through this meticulously laid trap.

She is not sincerely trying to induce surrender, nor does she wish to entice him with silver; instead, she precisely grasped his current predicament of lacking funds and grain, urgently needing to accumulate strength, and deliberately offered this easily obtained advantage.

As long as he momentarily gives in to greed and rashly attacks any one of these caravans, it will be confirmed as the serious crime of plundering official goods.

When officials from elsewhere come to investigate, all faults will be piled onto him, ironclad evidence like a mountain, leaving no room for denial.

With the charge in hand, that princess can seize absolute moral high ground, justifiably mobilize the Zhoufu troops, and openly launch a campaign against Hengcheng and Chuncheng.

By then, he, who had been the local lord of two cities, would instantly become a rebel bandit, losing popular support and lacking righteous cause, completely falling into the enemy's control.

What a meticulous, leak‑proof scheme!

If he does not raid, the opponent has a commander's crossbow; someday they will confront each other head‑on, a dead end.

If he raids but fails to drag her from her horse, and the opponent later retaliates with a false accusation, that too is a dead end.

Liu Ji's wavering anxiety and solemn expression were plainly visible to the brothers around him.

Everyone exchanged glances, looking at the elder brother who stood motionless with a grave expression, full of doubt, yet none dared to speak up and disturb him; they could only wait silently for his orders.

After a brief silence, Liu Ji suddenly lifted his gaze, his eyes sharp and solemn, turned his feet, abandoned the official road back to the city, and galloped his horse toward the riverside.

This sudden change left everyone stunned; the bearded second brother hurriedly followed, loudly voicing his puzzled question:

"Elder brother, the direction is wrong! Shouldn't we first return to the city to reorganize the troops and stabilize the defenses? Why are we heading to the riverside?"

Liu Ji reined in his horse, stopped, turned his head to look at the brothers, his tone sinking to a frightening level, mixed with a hint of lingering fear and sternness:

"What the hell with reorganization! A sharp blade already hangs over our necks; we cannot afford the slightest delay!"

He took a deep breath, suppressed his inner panic, and in a low voice dissected the deadly situation before him:

"That princess's schemes are deep; she left us no retreat at all. Letting me return, granting me a silver road, bestowing a divine weapon—every step is calculation. She has forced us into a desperate situation with wolves ahead and tigers behind!"

Everyone listened with bewildered faces, completely unable to understand the twists and turns.

Liu Ji gazed deeply at the rushing river in the distance, his eyes full of clarity and vigilance, and slowly spoke the ultimate truth:

"I originally thought she lacked manpower and influence, so she wanted to induce my surrender to borrow strength and secure her hold on Yongzhou. Now I see I was completely wrong from start to finish."

"She actually lacks neither money nor manpower; her actions this time are not recruitment but a test that stakes our entire livelihoods and lives."

"If we pass, perhaps there remains a sliver of hope; if we lose, everyone in Hengcheng and Chuncheng, high and low, will die without a burial place."

"This ship, we must raid it as she ordered, but I, Liu Ji, am not just blowing hot air...... this time, if we raid, we raid big—we must seize a major haul and bind ourselves to her utterly on the same boat!"

?? Here it comes, here it comes！||ヽ(*￣▽￣*)ノミ|Ю