Chapter 60: 59 Internal Data (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader Lady Richelieu)

59 Internal Data (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader Lady Richelieu)

Hearing "seven days," Tang Zhao's spine straightened instantly. A sense of crisis pressed down upon his heart in an instant.

Although he had known the one-day deadline was approaching, it had ultimately been a vague timeframe, much like being sentenced to death after autumn; the date might be fine, but to explicitly say that one would be beheaded after seven days, that feeling was completely different.

Seeing Tang Zhao, who had just been joking with him, suddenly become restless, Xing Ji laughed: "What, not ready yet?"

Tang Zhao said helplessly: "How could I be ready? It feels like I'll never be ready. I practice sword every day, but I'm still far from being a Sword Art expert! And just swinging a Wooden Sword at the air every day, will that be enough to enter the field and slay demons? I've only seen a Phantom from afar; I don't even know what a Heavenly Demon looks like. I feel so hollow."

Xing Ji said: "This is my fault; I should have told you these things long ago." As he spoke, he tossed a book onto the table with a "bang," and it was quite heavy.

"This is data just finished yesterday, including the situation in the Demon Cave, our own deployments, and information on the enemy. Every member of the Land Inspection Division participating this time has a copy. You are also under the jurisdiction of the Land Inspection Division, so naturally, you have one too. I've added extra annotations to your copy, noting some common knowledge issues."

Tang Zhao weighed this two-finger-thick tome; even if one read it carefully, it would take two or three days of effort. On the cover were four large characters: "Internal Data," signed by "Qingtian Temple."

Xing Ji said: "Internal Data, burn after reading. Actually, it doesn't matter; there are only a few days left, and not many people have the patience to finish such a thick book. You tell me, this Qingtian Temple, printing such a thick stack of data every time, who reads it? Showing off that they have plenty of funding, right? Those rough men under my command, how did the Division teach them to read back then? They act as if they are illiterate, all waiting for me to explain it at meetings, wasting my time. You are still the most worry-free; put the book there, and you can understand it yourself."

Tang Zhao felt he was speaking sarcastically, and that nasty urge flared up again; he had an impulse to wedge this book onto his head.

Hopefully, this thing was written in a simple and easy-to-understand way, otherwise, he would have to look at the Glasses' annotations or ask Ping Jiangqiu. Save the questions to ask Xing Ji at the end? Who knows where to catch him at the end?

"Also..."

Tang Zhao said: "Can you give me the Black and White Sword first so I can adapt for two days? An Art Tool and that sword are completely different, right? What if it doesn't feel right when the time comes?"

Xing Ji sighed: "This is actually a reasonable request, but unfortunately, this sword is too precious to be left in your hands. Otherwise, if there's even a slight rumor, one or two Sword Guests might jump in through the window in the middle of the night, and you'll be 'uh'—" He made a slashing motion with his hand, "I won't be able to save you in time."

Tang Zhao thought: If you don't keep the sword here, couldn't expert Sword Guests jump in through the window anyway? Is Black Spider Villa safe right now?

Xing Ji reassured him: "You read it yourself for a few days first. Four days from now, when there are only three days left until the Demon Cave, I will take you out, unseal the sword, hand it all over to you, and then guide you step by step to master that sword. This is my promise to you; I will never go back on it."

Tang Zhao felt relieved. He already had several teachers who had guided him, but he inexplicably felt that this slightly unreliable person before him was the most formidable, including the Sword Hero Ping Jiangqiu. Perhaps it was a personality issue; the more unrestrained someone was, the more unfathomable they seemed.

He asked curiously: "Sir, you are a Sword Guest, right? Is the owner of that sword also from the Land Inspection Division?"

What is your sword like?

He also wanted to ask this, but of course, he didn't; that would be too offensive.

Because every sword is different, information about a sword is very important. Unless one leaks it themselves, it is generally best not to ask. This is the same as not casually asking about someone else's martial arts style in the pugilistic world.

Of course, quietly using Knock Sword is not included.

Xing Ji said candidly: "Of course I am a Sword Guest." He pointed to the "Internal Data" book, "My information is inside, and it's quite detailed. According to the rules, everyone must be introduced. If soldiers don't even know who their commander is, how can they go to the battlefield?"

"As for that sword, don't talk about an owner—Tang Zhao, a sword has no owner; we are Sword Guests. The relationship between a sword and a Sword Guest is not master and servant; it should be called host and guest. That sword belonged to a senior, and I..."

He revealed a look of reminiscence and said: "When I was your age, I once followed a Town Guardian. Of course, he wasn't a bastard like me, pushing a child to do the hard work; instead, he always shielded me and my peers from the wind and rain. From a young age, I was determined to follow him, ideally growing up to become a sharp sword under his command. Unfortunately, he died in the line of duty later."

He gently placed his hand on Tang Zhao's shoulder, his expression rarely serious, and said: "Tang Zhao, what you hold is the sword of a great hero, and also a sword of justice that condenses all the hero's heart's blood and righteousness. You must cherish this opportunity well."

"Holding this sword, you only have one chance."

"That child Tang Zhao is really interesting. I saw he was a bit gloomy and thought he didn't like to socialize. I didn't expect him to take the initiative to ask you to save a little spiderling. Can he still make friends with the cubs in our villa with that kind of personality?"

Yuan Qing lowered her eyes and said: "This was not according to the rules. It was only because you gave the order in advance that I agreed to him."

Black Widow gave a hum and said: "Just a small matter. Just agree."

Yuan Qing stole a glance at Black Widow. She was Black Widow's personal maid; although she was in awe of this Master, because they were close, sometimes she could speak her mind: "This servant thinks that if you truly value that Jiao boy, letting him off the hook would be nothing. But just to do a favor for the Land Inspection Division and Tang Zhao, it seems unnecessary..."

Black Widow glanced at her and said: "Interesting. I thought you also liked Tang Zhao and were happy to do this favor."

Yuan Qing said: "He is good-looking and quite polite, so I don't dislike him. But he is a person from the Land Inspection Division; why should I do him a favor?" In her words, she was extremely disgusted by the three words "Land Inspection Division."

Black Widow didn't care. Basically, everyone in Black Spider Villa had this attitude toward the Land Inspection Division, but as the Land Inspection Division conducted successive cleanups of Heiyang County, fewer and fewer people dared to show dissatisfaction to their faces.

People in the pugilistic world, whether they have virtue or not, certainly know how to fear power; otherwise, they wouldn't live that long.

The current attitude of the villa is: it's only a few days anyway; once the time is up, the Land Inspection Division will naturally get lost, so everyone just endure it and it will pass.

Black Widow narrowed her eyes slightly and said: "Tang Zhao's favor can be done; at least it's not a loss. As for the Jiao boy, he is also interesting. Someone in our villa actually saw someone else being ambushed, and their first reaction was to warn them, even risking their own injury to block it. Isn't that interesting?"

Yuan Qing immediately said: "If it were me, I would not hesitate to die to block an attack for you."

Black Widow was unmoved and said: "I am your Master, so it is naturally different. If Yuan Yu were in danger, would you take the risk?"

Yuan Qing was silent. Of course, she wouldn't. It wasn't that she was abnormally cold-blooded, but that she had come out of the selection system of Black Spider Villa, stepping on the piled-up corpses of her peers, and had completely severed the concept of "friendship" from her thinking; at most, she understood "loyalty."

Putting it that way, Jiao Feng is indeed rare. Perhaps it is because he has high talent and strong strength, so he didn't have to drive himself crazy to stand out, thus retaining some simple conscience.

But such a person in the Five Poisons Society's evaluation system...

Yuan Qing frowned and said: "That kid is simply unqualified. His heart is not ruthless, his hands are not vicious; no matter how high his talent, he cannot become a tool. How can he be sent out to fight? Don't let him ruin things when the time comes."

Black Widow said: "Unqualified to be sent out to kill, but most suitable to be kept by my side to guard. It is rare to find someone among our own who understands 'stepping forward.' Talent is hard to come by. I feel at ease leaving my safety to such talent."

Yuan Qing stopped talking. In her heart, she still didn't approve. Even a "qualified" Five Poisons Society Disciple knows how to block a blade for their superior; why is he not as reassuring as Jiao Feng?

She couldn't help but feel resentful in her heart, and even more, a trace of fear—as the Manor Master's personal maid, she keenly sensed that this Manor Master actually didn't like standard Five Poisons Society Disciples and even felt some disgust toward them, which became more obvious especially after Xing Ji arrived.

Yuan Qing was afraid in her heart; one, she was afraid that the Manor Master would dislike standard Five Poisons Society people like her, and two, she was afraid that if the whole villa knew about the Manor Master's favoritism, a great chaos would break out, implicating her as well.

At this moment, she deeply hated Xing Ji. It was bad enough that this person was arrogant, rude, and overbearing, but she didn't know what kind of love potion he had fed the Manor Master to lead her astray.

Of course it was Xing Ji who led her astray; could it be that the Manor Master, being a direct descendant of the Five Poisons Society and having connections even in Jingzhe Villa, had long hated the Five Poisons Society and only expressed it now because Xing Ji came and she had support?

Black Widow said: "In two days, go tell Tang Zhao that I am giving Jiao Feng one more chance for his sake, to ensure he doesn't die."

Yuan Qing forcibly pulled back her thoughts and said with a flattering smile: "You even went out of your way to tell Tang Zhao; that is truly great favor."

Black Widow said: "The favor is delivered to the mouth, so just accept it. It costs nothing. Tang Zhao... although he doesn't count for much now, he is truly beyond my expectations. If one day..."

She unconsciously reached back and stroked a book on the shelf.

Yuan Qing's eyes quietly looked at that book. She knew this was the Manor Master's favorite book; it seemed to be a storybook for children, depicting a fairyland floating in the sky, a dream city or something.

She wasn't surprised that the world-renowned Black Widow would read such children's books—other books are so boring, isn't it normal to read children's books for entertainment?

Black Widow muttered to herself: "Actually, I can put in a little more effort. I've been too busy this month and haven't gone to build rapport; now I have to make up for it. It's a pity he doesn't lack anything. Should I take him out to play?"

Yuan Qing couldn't speak even more; she couldn't say: "Manor Master, you are going to build rapport with that brat yourself? Wouldn't that be too demeaning?"

Black Widow turned her head slightly and said: "Go spread the word: after finishing the business with Xing Ji, the entire Black Spider Villa is to prepare for war and attack Golden Toad Island."

Yuan Qing's spirit lifted, and she said with surprise: "Golden Toad Island? Not attacking Iron Scorpion Castle?"

Black Widow said indifferently: "Iron Scorpion Castle? It's almost been flattened by the Land Inspection Division, and Tie Xiezi is dead too; what is there to fight for? When the time comes, issue a bounty, and everything in Iron Scorpion Castle will be for the villa disciples to take as they please. After taking Golden Toad Island, won't we be the only Five Poisons Society left in Heiyang County? Go, tell them to get ready. Save them from making trouble and finding work for me."