Chapter 55: Building a Team

"You're walking on three legs like this, be careful not to trip..."

Dayun'er giggled, her cheeks as crimson as lanterns.

Li You, unwilling to be outdone, retorted, "I can hold it up!"

Dayun'er's eyes were moist and shimmering.

At the entrance to the inner courtyard, the night watchmen had long since been sent away by Dayun'er; the two stumbled into the inner room, which was thick with the scent of sandalwood, as this was originally meant to be the living quarters for the temple's head monk.

Upon entering, Li You noticed five or six books resting on a long cabinet in the outer room, though they were covered in a thick layer of dust.

This was his first time seeing books from this era, and for a moment, he felt a bit restless with curiosity.

On the east side of the room was a newly built heated brick bed, and in the middle stood a pear-wood octagonal table, with a large basin of charcoal on the floor beside it, radiating warmth.

Li You helped Wu Zhuge onto the edge of the bed, but Dayun'er glared at Li You, reached out, and shoved Wu Zhuge hard, rolling him over and pushing him completely into the corner against the wall!

"Halt! Today, I shall kill you first on behalf of the Great Chief!"

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room shifted drastically; Dayun'er was surprisingly skilled in martial arts, yet she remained cautious of Li You, first crouching at the edge of the bed in a "Wild Goose Descending on the Sandbank" flowing style to feint an attack.

Li You's eyes widened in shock; since he began practicing martial arts, when had he ever seen such a maneuver? He stood as still as a mountain, yet his heart was filled with panic, and subconsciously, he prepared to raise his staff to block.

Dayun'er, empty-handed, realized she would be at a disadvantage and rushed over to snatch the staff.

"My Lady, you mustn't!"

Li You naturally did not want to kill her; it went against his principles!

"Mustn't? That day outside, in broad daylight, with so many people, you launched a sneak attack—why was that allowed? Huh?"

Dayun'er sneered repeatedly, "With such humiliation, how could I not avenge this grudge?"

Li You snatched the staff back and walked all the way to the small outer hall before whispering, "My Lady, do not play with fire... it should be..."

"I want to drill wood to make fire! What can you do to me? Today, it is a fight to the death!"

Dayun'er moved with undulating grace, pursuing him relentlessly, and struck a pose for the "Eighteen Turns of Taishan" technique.

"Hmph, the staff is heartless, and I do not wish to hurt you, My Lady..."

"Say no more, come and fight!"

Li You had no choice but to dash out the front gate and call out from a distance, "I must select a group of miners and salt slaves to train new soldiers for the Chief, otherwise the Chief's life will be in danger at any moment, and by then, I fear you will not be able to escape your fate either..."

"Escape what? Tonight, the staff is stirring up the Dragon Palace until it shakes... even if he cannot wake up, it is enough for you and me to decide the victor; we shall fight until the stones crack and the seas run dry!"

"Oh my..."

Li You repeated what he had just said.

"Ah... what did you say?"

Only then did Dayun'er understand, and she exclaimed in shock, "Who would dare to act against me and the Chief?"

"My Lady, do you remember Tian Si, who attacked me at Nanshan that day? That was secretly instigated by the Second Chief..."

"Cao Er? How do you know? Why would he want to kill you?"

"There is a young girl at Nanshan named Song Man. Cao Er has athlete's foot and soaks his feet every night; Song Man heard Cao Er and Shi Jiu'en talking about killing me, and then seeing if the Great Chief could resolve the issue at Mao'er Dam..."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I haven't finished yet. Because Mao'er Dam is always harassing the Sun family at Cijiaoping, and Sun Shucai also has business ties with the Cao family, if the Great Chief keeps delaying action against Mao'er Dam, they will eventually have Pig Boss from Qigan Mountain come over to take over Longmen Shanzhai!"

"Ah... oh my... these truly are the cruel hearts of wicked gentry, nothing but plague-ridden, blind fools... Have you told the Chief?"

"No, I'm afraid the Chief won't believe me!"

"Then I will go tell him!"

"Do not tell him. There is no evidence to prove any of this; if you just say it, it will only make the Chief suspicious that I am sowing discord. Besides, the Chief does not want to offend the Cao family at all. Therefore, the best method is for me to pull together a team,

a team that can at least fight the people under Cao Er to a draw, and keep watch on Cao Er from there. If anything goes wrong, I will notify you in advance, and for your sake, I would even fight Cao Er to the death."

Dayun'er's emotions were in too much turmoil, and she was swayed by Li You's flowery words; how could a woman think about things like teams and such?

She was simply left trembling by Li You's deceptive nonsense, and as she reached out to grab the staff, she asked dazedly, "How can I help you?"

Li You dodged, held his staff high, and walked out of Beizhai, showing not a shred of drunkenness; he was truly a man who could sit amidst temptation without losing his composure!

"To be able to kill one's own brother-in-law for this woman... the 'pillow talk' should work, right!"

Li You was truly speechless; having transmigrated, he still had to rely on his looks, and in the end, he had to resort to such low-handed tactics, which made him feel ashamed. However, thinking that as long as his first plan could be implemented and he had food, it would all be worth it.

Besides, his bottom line still remained; if he still couldn't beat Wu Datou, then he would truly conquer his woman and give him a green hat—that could also be considered 'saving the country through a roundabout path.'

Of course, these were all jokes; having been single since birth, he was long accustomed to a life of chastity, and he would never touch someone like Dayun'er even if he died.

At this moment, he was clutching three books tightly to his chest as if they were treasures; these were what he had swiped during his repeated tussles with Dayun'er.

The straight-line distance from Beizhai to Nanshan was less than a mile, but there was a small hill in the middle of the road, and Li You was checked over by the sentries in the Shanzhai.

After being cleared to pass, he looked at the pitch-black night sky, and his heart began to fill with longing: spring would always come, the sun would always rise, and as long as he had his own team and power, everything would change!