Chapter 11

"Speak!" Old Qin was still irritated by what had just happened, and his voice was not pleasant as he spoke.

"That's how it is!" Zhao Chen didn't care about Old Qin's attitude. After some thought, he scratched his head vigorously and looked at Old Qin, saying, "Young man just heard you say that this forging technique is worth more than ten gold mines, right?"

"Did I say that?" Old Qin glared, looking completely as if he didn't remember, and asked Zhao Chen in return.

"You're being unreasonable. Do you believe young man will destroy the blueprint right away?" Zhao Chen inwardly wailed, suddenly feeling quite angry.

"Fine, let's say I did say it!" Old Qin, seeing Zhao Chen's anger, immediately leaned back in his recliner and said indifferently, "So what?"

"Since you said ten gold mines, that means young man just gave His Majesty ten gold mines, right?" Zhao Chen looked at Old Qin seriously and asked.

"In theory, that's correct!" Old Qin, hearing this, didn't quite understand Zhao Chen's intentions and could only nod and say.

"Phew, ten gold mines! How much would that be worth..." Zhao Chen, hearing this, couldn't help but take a deep breath, then looked at Old Qin and said, "Can young man ask His Majesty for something in return?"

"What do you want?" Old Qin's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he asked in a low voice.

"An imperial pardon!" Zhao Chen said boldly, "Young man heard Master say that with an imperial pardon, even His Majesty can't easily cut off young man's head!"

Old Qin almost choked to death on Zhao Chen's words, not knowing what this young man was thinking, to come up with something as absurd as an imperial pardon.

Old Qin knew about the iron warrant, but it was only granted to those who had made great contributions to the state and were loyal and steadfast. This young man was actually dreaming of getting an iron warrant, and at that moment, Old Qin didn't know whether to scold or laugh, truly feeling at a loss.

When Zhao Chen first mentioned using the forging technique to ask His Majesty for something, Old Qin thought it would be a title or a reward. If it were those, Old Qin felt he might have beaten the young man to death on the spot.

"You're afraid of death?" Old Qin was stunned for a long time, then sighed and asked Zhao Chen curiously.

"Young man came out from here!" Zhao Chen, hearing this, suddenly pointed into the depths of the forest, his voice low and somber, "You've seen it. We've been eating wild boar and tiger skin, but when young man first came out, these beasts were all alive and extremely fierce!"

Zhao Chen looked at Old Qin and smiled bitterly, then sighed and continued, "Young man walked through this forest for a whole month, being careful during the day and resting in trees at night, always in fear. At that time, young man thought that as long as he could get out of this place, no matter what the outside world was like, he would be content!"

At this point, Zhao Chen paused, recalling the day by the Wei River when he almost had his head cut off by Li Er, and said with a bitter smile, "But when young man finally got out of the forest, he was almost beheaded by His Majesty! Ha, although later he found out it was just a scare, young man is naturally timid, and he's afraid that one day His Majesty might really cut off his head..."

Old Qin naturally knew what happened by the Wei River and even knew about the conversation between His Majesty and Zhao Chen in the Taiji Palace. However, he was a bit surprised that the incident had scared the young man so much.

But listening to Zhao Chen's account of the forest, Old Qin couldn't help but feel a deep empathy. Walking alone in a primitive forest for a whole month, the experiences he must have had were beyond words.

Old Qin even imagined his own subordinates in the same situation and found that even the most skilled of his subordinates couldn't have come out of such a forest unscathed!

"Let's not talk about the imperial pardon anymore!" Old Qin looked at Zhao Chen and said in a gentle tone, "Old man can tell you here that as long as you don't do anything heinous, no one will cut off your head!"

Zhao Chen wanted to shout that Old Qin's assurance was worthless, but he held back. If he said it, Old Qin would probably strangle him on the spot!

The blueprint for steelmaking would have to wait until Liu Cheng returned. Zhao Chen's wooden house was now heavily guarded by Old Qin's orders. Even when Zhao Chen returned, he could feel the murderous gazes of the guards, which made him extremely depressed.

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In the dense forest, a young man in a green robe, carrying a sword, stood on a tall fir tree, his eyes sharp like an eagle, scanning the forest as if searching for something.

After a moment, the young man seemed to have found nothing and reluctantly gave up. He then pushed off the tree trunk with his toes and leaped onto a nearby tree, moving like a monkey. Soon, the young man's figure disappeared into the forest.

A long time after the young man left, the once quiet forest suddenly filled with rustling sounds. Moments later, the thick layer of leaves was abruptly lifted, and a man, covered in blood, sat up from the leaves.

"Ugh!" The man, just as he sat up, couldn't help but fall to the ground and vomit violently. The vomit was a black, mushy mass, and upon closer inspection, it was all chewed leaves.

The man, with a small mustache, was about thirty years old, with a lean face and a pair of sharp, triangular eyes. Even as he vomited, his eyes remained alert, scanning the surroundings.

This man was none other than Liu Cheng, the secret agent who had left the camp that morning!

However, Liu Cheng was now covered in wounds and drenched in blood, especially a deep sword wound on his chest and abdomen, which ran from his shoulder to his ribs, exposing white bone and covered in rotting leaves.

After vomiting for a while, Liu Cheng felt as if he was about to vomit bile, and his mouth was still filled with the taste of rotten leaves. His head was dizzy, and his vision was blurry. After vomiting, he grabbed a handful of leaves and, without thinking, stuffed them into his mouth, forcing himself to chew despite the intense nausea.

The bitter taste of the leaves would continuously stimulate his taste buds, preventing him from losing consciousness!

He still had two secret letters in his chest. Now was not the time to lose consciousness. Liu Cheng struggled to get up, and with a 'tear,' he tore a piece of cloth from his shirt, gritting his teeth and trembling, he bandaged his chest and abdomen, then determined the direction and staggered away.

That guy was extremely skilled, and Liu Cheng estimated that if they fought one-on-one, only a few of the old retainers in the palace could match him. The guy was a complete lunatic, and Liu Cheng felt extremely unlucky. Despite his years of experience as a scout, he had been cautious from the moment he saw the lunatic.

However, who could have expected that after a brief conversation, the lunatic would suddenly attack, leaving Liu Cheng with a terrifying sword wound on his chest and abdomen.

The force of that sword strike still made Liu Cheng shudder in fear. He swore he had never seen a sword move so fast. From the moment the lunatic drew his sword to the moment he sheathed it, it was almost instantaneous.

Liu Cheng had watched the wound on his chest and abdomen split open before his eyes!

But that guy was too confident, thinking no one could survive his sword strike. Yet, Liu Cheng managed to survive, though he was pursued in a very embarrassing manner. Nevertheless, he was still alive.

In front of him was a mountain ridge. Once he crossed it, he would be in Chang'an. Liu Cheng bent over and spat out the leaves he had chewed, buried the vomit with his foot, then took a deep breath, stuffed more leaves into his mouth, and began to climb the mountain.

The wound on his chest and abdomen split open again, and blood quickly soaked the bandage. Liu Cheng gritted his teeth, tore another piece of cloth, and bandaged the wound again. He looked behind him to ensure there were no bloodstains, then continued climbing.

A traitor of the Hidden Sect?

Walking in the world?

Zhao Chen?

To distract himself, Liu Cheng kept recalling the conversation with the lunatic in the forest. According to the lunatic, he was searching for a traitor of the Hidden Sect who had infiltrated His Majesty's side as a "walker in the world."

According to the lunatic, Liu Cheng knew that the traitor and the "walker in the world" were none other than Zhao Chen.

What was the background of the Hidden Sect? And what did "walker in the world" mean?

Liu Cheng suddenly realized that, as His Majesty's most loyal hound, he had never even heard of these things. Perhaps if he could return alive and tell His Majesty, His Majesty would have a way to find out.

The path up the mountain became increasingly difficult, his legs felt like lead, and the wound on his chest and abdomen had split open several times. Each time it split, it took a lot of effort to bandage it again.

Damn it, why hasn't Chang'an arrived yet?

Liu Cheng's vision was extremely blurry, and blood was dripping from his shirt, leaving a long trail behind him!

In his line of sight, several soldiers in Tang Dynasty armor appeared, led by a young officer with a dark complexion, running towards him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The dark-faced officer squatted down, checking Liu Cheng's injuries while slapping his cheeks and shouting, "What happened?"

"Take... His..." Liu Cheng wanted to curse this rough, dark-faced guy, but when he opened his mouth, he could only beg the officer to take him to see His Majesty.

"Alright, hang in there!" The dark-faced young officer agreed, and Liu Cheng felt himself being lifted, as they ran towards the monstrous Chang'an in the distance.