Chapter 28

PS: In my eyes, you readers are all walking treasure troves. Quickly, take a few of those precious votes from your treasuries and throw them over, throw them over!

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In the east, there are righteous men, raising troops to punish the bandits.

These are the first two lines of a poem.

The poem is called "Hao Li Xing," and its author is Cao Cao, Cao Mengde.

Because of this poem, Qin Yu can easily guess that Xi Zhilan and Jin Wei are most likely Cao Cao's subordinates.

In the first year of Chuping (190 AD), Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, among others, united with more than a dozen warlords to jointly attack the national traitor Dong Zhuo. The warlords were too selfish and lacked unity, so Cao Cao left in anger. It was around that time that he wrote this "poem of sorrow and anger."

"Hao Li Xing" is one of Cao Cao's early representative works and is quite famous in later generations. As a literary and artistic editor, Qin Yu has a bit of a foundation in classical Chinese.

However, Qin Yu never expected that Cao Cao would use the name of this poem as a... codename for a dark organization.

"Hao" is similar to "hong," which means withered when a person dies. "Hao Li" refers to the place where the dead reside. Given the roles played by Xi Zhilan, Jin Wei, and others, they are either assassins or spies, which fits well with the meaning of "Hao Li."

Is it really Xi Zhicai?

According to historical records, among Cao Cao's strategists, Xi Zhicai was extremely unlucky and died very early, even more tragically than Guo Jia. Guo Jia at least performed brilliantly on the battlefield in Hebei before passing away with a smile, while Xi Zhicai... After much recollection, Qin Yu could not think of any impressive performances by Xi Zhicai recorded in history.

Qin Yu hesitated for a long time but finally let Xi Zhilan slip out of the cave and disappear into the forest without further questioning.

He sat alone in the cave, thinking. Cao Cao's dark hand had actually reached Jingxiang?

These dark dealings, of course, would not be recorded in official history. However, since he had encountered them, he needed to carefully consider whether they were good or bad for him.

To establish himself in Wuling, besides the local forces, his biggest enemy would likely be Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, who had significant influence over the three commanderies of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang.

To resist Liu Biao, Zhang Xian must first consolidate the four southern commanderies, and his invasion of Wuling was inevitable.

Qin Yu, on the other hand, wanted to first take control of Wuling, absorb a large number of mountain barbarian warriors, train them, and form a powerful and independent mercenary team.

Various conflicts would inevitably arise between the two sides.

From Cao Cao's perspective, supporting Zhang Xian to resist Liu Biao, in order to split the eight commanderies of Jingxiang and deplete the potential of the southern half, was almost a necessary process.

However, Qin Yu thought that if he could seize the opportunity and quickly demonstrate his potential, he might have a chance to grow and develop by joining Cao Cao's forces.

Even in modern times, a certain country's CIA would support local anti-government forces in other countries, spreading their influence widely and investing in multiple areas rather than putting all their eggs in one basket.

Those who do the latter usually end up hanging from that tree.

Is this Xi Zhilan's brother really Xi Zhicai?

This unexpected encounter left Qin Yu somewhat restless. He deliberately slowed down his cultivation and thought for nearly half an hour.

In the end, he concluded: the current situation is that the Cao family's influence can be an ally but not an enemy.

Even the famous blacklisted individual, in order to resist the Russians, once accepted CIA funding and training.

After thinking it through, Qin Yu put the matter aside and returned to his cultivation.

Although the wound on his back was not small, due to the protection of his leather coat and the Stone Skin Jade Muscle Technique, the skin was only superficially broken. While thinking, Qin Yu had been trying to use the Heart Method of the Golden Needle Transcendence Technique to move his blood and qi. Surprisingly, after a few stretches and contractions of a newly connected back acupoint, a new blood circulation system was established around the wound, quickly stopping the bleeding.

Once the bleeding stopped, healing the external injury was not difficult.

Qin Yu was overjoyed and once again recognized the wonders of the Golden Needle Transcendence Technique.

"This is just the initial development of the Conception Vessel and its associated acupoints. If I can advance to the Transformation Stage in the future and open all thirty-six extraordinary acupoints, plus the original twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary vessels, wouldn't I be able to form hundreds of independent blood and qi circulation systems within my body? If each system could be fully developed..." Thinking of the terrifying potential within his body, Qin Yu couldn't help but be captivated. He never imagined that the human body could be developed to such an extent.

He was extremely eager and looked forward to Shi Huang's return so he could ask him about some profound principles of martial arts.

Three hours later, Shi Huang returned, covered in snow, his eyes bloodshot.

He looked as if he had been in a fierce battle with his snow-covered companions for a day and a night.

"Old Master, did you run into Deng Qianwan again?"

Qin Yu was stunned and, forgetting to ask about the martial arts, gently swept the ice and snow off Shi Huang's outer clothing with his discarded robe. Seeing that he had no external injuries and that the blood was likely from others, he was somewhat relieved.

"I... almost fell into an ambush again," Shi Huang lay in the cave for about three minutes before struggling to sit up, filled with resentment.

It turned out that the Shennong Auction, which took place every ten years, was about to open the day after tomorrow. Shi Huang had been working hard to accumulate the necessary stakes to obtain a certain treasure at the auction. The reason he was ambushed by the Deng couple was to exchange for a certain rare item in Deng Qianwan's possession. They were old acquaintances with no major grudges, so he trusted them and went to meet them.

After being poisoned, Shi Huang had been setting up decoys and searching for suitable stakes. However, he was deceived again and almost lured into another ambush. Fortunately, Shi Huang had learned from his mistake and reacted quickly, retreating as soon as he sensed something was wrong. But the opponent was powerful and pursued him relentlessly, leading to a series of intense battles. In the end, Shi Huang, enraged, wielded his ochre whip and killed over a dozen people before breaking through the encirclement.

Qin Yu was secretly amazed. What kind of astonishing treasure was Shi Huang so desperate to obtain that he would go to such lengths? He already possessed the ochre whip and the Panhu Bell, so why couldn't he exchange them for the treasure he wanted?

However, Qin Yu did not believe that Shi Huang had no grudges with the Deng couple. How could a love triangle not have complications? You might be clear-headed and resolve it with a few words, but the couple would be filled with resentment and determined to fight to the death!

Hearing his mumbled words, Shi Huang's bloodshot eyes widened. "Brat, don't you dare slander me in your heart. Do you think I know less about human affairs than you?"

Qin Yu mumbled, "You're not worse, you just don't care to be the same."

"What are you babbling about?" Shi Huang was also very angry but secretly alarmed. "This time, not only the Deng couple but also Tan Sanzhuan suddenly turned against me and led a group to attack me. Have I really become such a terrible person?"

Over the past few days, their relationship had improved significantly, and Shi Huang no longer referred to himself as "this official" but as "this old man." Qin Yu, in turn, began to call him "Old Master" or "Old Man," and Shi Huang could do nothing about it.

Hearing a certain name, Qin Yu's heart raced. This person... this person also came to Shennongjia?