Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 142

Duanmu Rong noticed the head of the pharmacy coming out, put down her work, patted her long skirt, and walked up to Lu Wei.

"Today's nourishing soup I added snake and insect hemp, hook grass and dust-avoiding flower. According to my master's notes in the ancient book, this will fully release the effects of the nourishing grass and make the nourishing soup work best."

"The only minor drawback is that this version of the nourishing soup needs to be simmered for six more hours than the original..."

Then, the little girl slowly said:

“Brother Lu...we’ve been waiting for so long, why don’t you finish the soup tomorrow morning before you leave?”

“Alright,” Lu Wei said calmly, staring at the slender eyebrows beneath the blue and white headscarf. After the latter unconsciously looked away, he finally spoke: “I’m going back to my room to rest.”

"Miss Duanmu, please remember to inform me in advance next time this happens."

As she walked past Xiao Duanmu, the undeniable tone of her voice made Duanmu Rong subconsciously nod her head a few times.

Although Xiao Duanmu meant well, he had undoubtedly been tricked by her pharmacological knowledge in this round.

Since Nian Duan is still around, for now, all he can do is warn the little girl with the Soul-Sweeping Technique: once he has subdued the two female healers, she will be his enemy if she is fooled by this kind of pharmacological knowledge!

It's not hard to understand why the head of the hall could tell that Duanmu Rong had some feelings for him: the young girl had been raised by Nian Duan since she was a child, and now she was at the age when she was just beginning to experience romantic feelings.

She usually comes into contact with patients, and among her fellow men in the martial arts world, Master Lu is very confident that she is undoubtedly among the best.

Coupled with the various excellent qualities he cultivated along the way, it naturally gave the young girl a different feeling.

As long as he maintains this simple goodwill, Lu Wei believes it won't be difficult for him to control Duanmu Rong. Moreover, Nian Duan also has the Energy Pill as a backup plan. These two female physicians are already under his control.

That's why he felt comfortable making the plan to temporarily leave the medical clinic for a few months to handle other important matters in the Chu Kingdom.

After all, the Hall Master was aware of Yan Dan's intentions towards the Medical Clan. If he wasn't absolutely certain, he would definitely stay at the Medical Manor for a few more days to build up goodwill and prevent the Mo Clan from raiding his home.

The short afternoon passed quickly. As the evening sun shone on the lake, Lu Wei caught a few small fish and handed them to Duanmu Rong to cook.

His calm expression reassured Xiao Duanmu. Dinner, like lunch, consisted of a meal combining ingredients and medicinal herbs.

The taste was average; the Master has never been particular about food, as long as it's palatable.

After the meal, as dusk fell, the various supplies in the medical facility, which had been previously stockpiled, were no longer available. However, they were enough to last for a while.

Duanmu Rong planned to tidy up the medical clinic in the next few days and then go out to buy some more supplies, but this had nothing to do with Lu Wei. Before dawn the next day, he had already pushed the wooden boat back into the water.

Little Duanmu arrived a few steps late, carrying a torch. She needed to board the boat together, see the hall master off, and then row the boat back alone.

"Here you go, Brother Lu."

The little girl placed a torch on the side of the boat and handed Lu Wei a purple medicine gourd, inside which was a nourishing soup that had been simmering for nine hours since yesterday.

The gourd's skin was still a little warm, and the medicinal soup inside needed to cool down a bit more.

After taking the gourd and tying it to his left waist, Lu Wei pulled Duanmu Rong along as they pedaled the boat, then used the pole to row towards the center of the lake along the waterline they had come from.

"Physician Nian Duan hasn't said much since returning to the clinic, but is there anything unusual about his health?"

The cool lake breeze wasn't unpleasant; it felt comfortable on my face. Lu Wei focused his gaze, keeping the boat sailing straight, and suddenly asked a question in the quiet atmosphere.

"No, Master is in much better spirits here than he was in the Taihang Mountains."

Duanmu Rong sat upright at the bow of the boat, her voice low: "It's just that due to the fatigue of the journey, Master's body is recovering from fatigue very slowly."

"So that's it."

Master Lu gazed at the lake water swaying with the oars, subtly drawing parallels between it and his own swordsmanship, while casually continuing to find topics to discuss:

"Is this Miss Duanmu's first time visiting Jinghu Medical Clinic? Yesterday, you seemed quite familiar with the clinic's layout."

"Yes, after my master stepped down as the head of the medical school, he stayed here with me for two months before going out to study."

The two chatted idly throughout the journey, discussing all sorts of topics, making the trip anything but boring. However, throughout the entire trip, it was mostly Lu Wei asking questions and Duanmu Rong answering.

From Duanmu's casual conversation, Master Lu either directly learned or inferred many medical secrets...

After daybreak, I finally saw the dock where I had set off yesterday.

Without waiting for the boat to come to a complete stop, the Hall Master shoved the oars into Duanmu Rong's arms, said goodbye, and then leaped onto the lake shore. He didn't look back and left Mirror Lake directly.

Watching that dashing figure disappear, Xiao Duanmu gripped the oar tightly, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, pursed her lips, and went to the stern to turn the boat around.

She was all alone on the way back.

...

No more than twenty miles from Mirror Lake, Lu Wei took the horse from the disciple he had arranged to guard the vicinity and galloped towards Shouchun.

Not long after he left the State of Chu, in addition to confirming that he had obtained the two daughters of the physician, another important gain from this northward escort mission was that he met Chen Sheng along the way.

Lu Wei won the sword match, of course. However, compared to his winning streak increasing from seventy-six to seventy-seven matches, the more valuable gain was that he learned an interesting thing from Chen Sheng.

'Besides the well-known powers, the hidden strength of those lesser-known forces is no less formidable...'

A hint of seriousness appeared in the eyes of the hall master:

According to Chen Sheng after his defeat, information about Lu Wei's whereabouts was leaked to him by someone.

The man was dressed in a cloak and hat, concealing his head and tail, so his face was not visible, but his strength was considerable, at least in Chen Sheng's perception.

He proactively informed Chen Sheng that Lu Wei had already traveled north from the State of Chu, and accurately described Lu Wei's route and the approximate time of arrival at each key point, so that Chen Sheng could precisely block Lu Wei's path.

When he first learned of this news, the Hall Master was deeply shocked: only he knew about his journey to the north and his itinerary; he had never revealed it before!

This person can actually predict his own actions!

The more significant the issue, the more necessary it is to remain calm and analyze it carefully.

After regaining his senses, Lu Wei quickly figured out how Lu Wei had managed to do this.

He spent most of his time in Shouchun with Xiang Bo, occasionally going out at night to Yunmeng Market to look for Chu Nan Gong, but there should be no problem between the two of them.

Even if there were problems, Xiang Bo and Chu Nan Gong would not allow Chen Sheng, who was from the territory of Wei, to block them.

Therefore, he actually only made one public appearance in Shouchun City: after defeating Ji Bu, he asked Ji Bu to spread the news of his victory.

Ji Bu is unlikely to have any problems, but the mysterious person who took the initiative to contact Chen Sheng must have learned about Lu Wei's whereabouts in Shouchun from Ji Bu, and thus began the next step of the plan.

Master Lu had received a letter from Daliang before setting off north, and his first destination was Daliang, where he planned to learn more about the Taihang Mountains.

Therefore, this person also knew that Lu Wei had established a branch network in Daliang City.

Based on this information and combined with Lu Wei's personality, it can be inferred that a person with exceptional intelligence would be able to accurately report targets to Chen Sheng.

In summary: This mysterious person knew Lu Wei's plans in Daliang, understood him very well, needed to learn Lu Wei's exact location from Ji Bu, and also had some knowledge of Chen Sheng...

Taking all these factors into account, the first name that comes to mind for the Hall Master is undoubtedly the Net.

Passing the buck to Luo Wang is a sign of respect for this massive assassin organization.

But soon, Lu Wei immediately crossed out this option: if it were the Net, if they really wanted to take action against him, they would definitely choose a more elaborate ambush, rather than having Chen Sheng block the way.

For Chen Sheng, blocking the road was not a bad thing, but rather a kind of help.

Since that mysterious person could accurately deduce his own schedule based on various pieces of information, it was impossible for him not to be able to deduce this point.

Thinking about it this way, the mysterious person's actions were probably not intended to harm me, but rather to show their willingness to befriend me.

If that's the case, Lu Wei boldly speculates: Chen Sheng blocking the road was just a test!

Once you can figure out this test, you'll be able to figure out that this mysterious person will be waiting patiently in Shouchun City for the Hall Master to come find him!

------

At an inn a hundred miles outside of Shouchun City, the sect leader encountered another challenge from a wandering swordsman.

The newcomer did not announce his name, but held only a magnificent-looking sword. As Lu Wei rode past the inn on horseback, he thrust the sword at him.

It was less of a challenge and more of an assassination attempt.

However, this swordsman was really weak. He was first attacked by Lu, who was sitting on his horse, with a single sword strike, and then Lu cut off the swordsman's right hand.

The swordsman let out a bloodcurdling scream, enduring the pain as he picked up his right hand with his left, pried open his fingers to grip the sword again, and then, in front of Lu Wei and the astonished onlookers in the inn... with an expression of indignation, he slit his own throat and committed suicide...

"..."

Somewhat inexplicable.

Master Lu used his inner strength to draw the sword from the suicide assassin's hand into his palm, then examined it closely. The famous sword manuals he had read before had once again proven useful:

“‘Above, radiant light shines; below, loyal souls are concealed’—this is the meaning of ‘carving’.”

The unicorn carved on the hilt of the magnificent sword directly reveals the answer: the Lone Deer Sword.

Its other name is *Shulu*.

The sword, named Shulou, was originally given by King Fuchai of Wu to Wu Zixu, who used it to commit suicide. After the state of Yue destroyed Wu, it came into the possession of Goujian, who then bestowed it upon Wen Zhong, who had made great contributions in the conquest of Wu, ordering him to commit suicide...

This sword is even more ominous than the Hao Cao sword; it is a sword that signifies "the ruler commands the death of his subject" and "the rabbit is killed and the dog is cooked."

He dismounted and took the sword sheath from the swordsman's corpse, accepting the famous sword without hesitation.

Maybe it will be useful sometime in the future.

After handing the horses over to the innkeeper to be looked after, the master entered the inn and sat down in front of a man in a gray robe and straw hat.

The other patrons looked away, not paying much attention to what had just happened.

It seems like he was just seeking revenge in the martial arts world but ended up being killed instead; it's nothing out of the ordinary.

"You have twice set tests for me; you must have already prepared your explanations!"

Lu Wei slammed the sword on the table, staring at the person in front of him with a very bad expression.

He glanced at everyone's reactions in the inn after killing the unknown assassin and memorized them.

This man in the grey robe and straw hat is highly suspicious!

Based on Chen Sheng's previous description of the person who had given him the message, Master Lu confirmed that this person was indeed the mysterious man!

That is, waiting for the person who is waiting for them.

"It's not a test, it's help."

The man in the straw hat had a young voice and a steady tone:

"These two acts of assistance are gifts I would give to Hall Master Lu."

Having said that, he took off his straw hat and placed it at his feet, revealing a round, unfamiliar face: thick eyebrows and eyes like hanging pearls.

"Xiao He is the founder of Taoism."

"Greetings, Hall Master Lu Wei!"