Chapter One Hundred Seventy: Sister, You Don’t Want to…
Yu Tiejiang, whose real name is Yu Ping, is one of the five righteous men who received a message from the Nanling County King.
Although many people call him the blacksmith, and on the surface he works at a blacksmith shop inside Yumen Pass, where he is praised for producing kitchen knives, ladles, iron locks, and other iron tools from Yu’s Blacksmith Shop, his true identity is not simply that of a skilled blacksmith.
Xia Lianqing, who once acted as an undercover agent sent by the Huihu tribe to approach Longxiang, not only attempted to probe the secrets of the Longxiang Army but also spent a long time gathering various intelligence within Yumen Pass.
It was in the process of collecting intelligence that she discovered Yu Ping’s true identity.
In fact, that middle-aged blacksmith who usually appeared honest and friendly, with a slight disability, was not only known for his blacksmith shop but also secretly forged armor and crossbows.
This is a serious crime!
According to Tang law: “One strong crossbow, add two degrees; one set of armor and three strong crossbows, exiled two thousand miles; three sets of armor and five crossbows, execution by strangulation.”
This means that in all under heaven, if someone secretly possesses a strong crossbow, their punishment will be increased by two degrees; the person who secretly harbors one set of armor or three strong crossbows faces two thousand miles of exile; and the one who secretly owns three sets of armor or five crossbows will face execution by strangulation.
Simply possessing armor and a strong crossbow is equivalent to a serious crime of participating in treason, not to mention that Yu Tiejiang not only crafted and hoarded but also sold them in secret, with a large amount of finely crafted armor flowing out of his hands to various forces outside the pass each year.
This is alarming.
Of course, aside from Yu Tiejiang, the other few righteous men who received the message are also no ordinary characters; among them are Xia Lianqing, who appears to be the top performer at Dai Mu Institute but is secretly an undercover agent for the Huihu tribe, as well as smugglers of salt, a swordsman who has assassinated princes alone, and other devious characters…
Earlier, upon learning the identities of the other righteous men who received the message, Xia Lianqing was indeed shocked.
She couldn’t figure out how the Nanling County King managed to gather such a group of people and put them to use.
She felt that someone as unremarkable as her, a mere undercover agent, seemed somewhat weak and insignificant among these “righteous men.”
“……”
From Long Bang, she learned that Yu Tiejiang had been ambushed by enemies and that the leader of the group was her own sister. Xia Lianqing pinched her chin and fell into silence.
She knew very little about the task that the Nanling County King assigned to Yu Tiejiang; she only knew that Yu Tiejiang had provided many new equipment to the Longxiang Army soldiers who were hidden among them, remaining at Yumen Pass.
The items being transported out from the Dai Mu Institute were part of them.
In addition, according to the plan of the Nanling County King, Yu Tiejiang should be the first among the five righteous men to leave Yumen City.
The departure was scheduled for today before dawn, with the specific hour unknown, but the destination was likely to deliver new equipment or supplies to the Longxiang Army soldiers outside the pass.
If that were the case, those supplies and equipment might have already fallen into enemy hands.
More importantly, like Yu Tiejiang, Xia Lianqing also had a task at hand.
According to the message given to her by the Nanling County King, the army formed by the Shaman Queen and the Huihu tribes would likely arrive outside the northern gate of Yumen Pass between the hours of Shen and You tomorrow.
Before that, she must evacuate the residents near the southern city as discreetly as possible to the southwestern corner of the pass where the Dai Mu Institute was located, and then let Long Bang and several Dragon Riders led by Captain Lao Qin guard the safety of the civilians until the Shaman Queen was suppressed.
As the top performer at the largest establishment in Yumen Pass—the Dai Mu Institute—and once an undercover agent for the Huihu tribe gathering intelligence within Yumen Pass, Xia Lianqing had more contacts among various classes and common folk than anyone else did.
No one was more suitable than her to secretly inform the city’s residents and mediate potential conflicts between scholars and warriors, local gangs and Longxiang Army soldiers, bullies and merchants, and farmers, etc.
She herself was also a spiritual ability user and could assist Long Bang and the Dragon Riders in battle if necessary.
This was the mission assigned to her by the Nanling County King.
Although it seemed far less risky compared to the missions assigned to the other righteous men.
After all, whether the Shaman Queen’s army could successfully storm the city gates after appearing at the northern gate was uncertain.
Even if the army broke into the city, it was very possible that before they crossed half of the pass to reach the southwestern corner, they would be suppressed, and she along with the Dragon Riders might not even have the opportunity to confront the enemy head-on.
However, all of this was based on the premise that everything went according to plan.
Now, with less than a day left until the time indicated on the message, leaving the Dai Mu Institute at this moment seemed a bit improper.
Those mingling within Yumen Pass usually had poor relations with the Dragon Riders, and without her coordinating as the top performer of the Dai Mu Institute and Long Bang’s special identity, conflicts could easily arise and cause trouble.
However, the fact that the group of enemies could successfully ambush Yu Tiejiang indicated that while they may be few in number, their strength was formidable, and allowing them to roam about the city was a significant source of instability that couldn’t be ignored.
Moreover, the leader was her own sister…
After a long silence, Xia Lianqing made up her mind and withdrew her thoughts to look at Long Bang seriously, saying, “I might be able to find my sister. Based on what I know of her, if she has already brought men into the city, there are only two or three hiding places. I can check them one by one.”
“Even if I can’t find her, I have a way to lure her out; however…”
“However, what?” Long Bang asked.
Xia Lianqing bowed slightly to Long Bang, saying, “However, if I go alone, it may not be easy to subdue them. If Captain Long trusts me, please send some brave soldiers to accompany me.”
“Why…” Long Bang hesitated.
He understood that Xia Lianqing wanted to personally search for her sister.
He initially wanted to ask her why she didn’t let him accompany her, but then thought that if he left the vicinity of the Dai Mu Institute as well, and the enemies took advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, the consequences would be unimaginable.
As for trust…
Although he himself still had reservations about Xia Lianqing, as long as his elder brother said Xia Lianqing was trustworthy, then she was trustworthy.
“I understand, I’ll go call someone right now!” Long Bang nodded.
After saying that, he turned and quickly left the room.
Once Long Bang left, Xia Lianqing stood still for a moment, lost in thought, before suddenly remembering that there was still Shen Baiwei, who had appeared mysteriously at some point, waiting for her.
She walked through the stacked wooden boxes and came to Lu Yibei’s side, smiling as she spoke, “Baiwei, I might have to leave for a short while…”
Before Xia Lianqing could finish her sentence, Lu Yibei interrupted softly, “But sister, you just said you would let me stay by your side and take good care of me! You aren’t going back on your word, are you?”
As she spoke, her expressionless face, with dim eyes, resembled a little cat abandoned in the streets, suffering from the harshness of life, which made Xia Lianqing’s heart tremble slightly, and she became momentarily distracted.
Although there were many details Lu Yibei was still unaware of, from the conversation between Xia Lianqing and Long Bang she had just overheard, she could sense that Xia Lianqing might be going into the city to search for lurking enemies.
This reminded her of a very serious thought…
When she first met Xia Lianqing, Xia Lianqing had a fierce appearance as if she were about to hang herself, but later, when Xia Lianqing appeared with those black-armored urban legends and asked for her help, she looked like someone who had been tortured to d*ath.
So, who could have tortured Xia Lianqing to d*ath?
Before hearing the conversation between Xia Lianqing and Long Bang, Lu Yibei was still at a loss, but now she strongly suspected that Xia Lianqing had been tortured to d*ath by those who infiltrated Yumen Pass.
After all, to that group of people, Xia Lianqing was nothing more than a traitor deserving countless blades; if given the chance, wouldn’t they want to capture her and twist her into all sorts of shapes?
So, if Xia Lianqing were allowed to leave now, it was probably a one-way trip.
Having sorted through these thoughts, Lu Yibei suddenly couldn’t feel happy anymore.
She had originally wanted to see an exciting drama of the sisters tearing each other apart!
There are few things more interesting in this world than watching two beautiful women fight.
But now, she suddenly discovered that Xia Lianqing’s request for help seemed to have emerged.
She had to find a way to keep Xia Lianqing in the Dai Mu Institute or go with her.
After all…
Everyone was kneeling down, uniformly.
She couldn’t just do nothing, right? It would shorten her lifespan!
If all else fails, she could find another opportunity to slip away; it wouldn’t be impossible!
From the spirit energy fluctuations of Xia Lianqing and those Dragon Riders, the highest was only about B+ level, and they would likely face enemies of similar strength, so if they all went together… it still seemed a bit dangerous, and they needed to proceed with caution.
Just as Lu Yibei pondered this, Xia Lianqing began to explain, “Baiwei, the things I need to do next will be very dangerous; I can’t let you accompany me into danger…”
“But sister,” Lu Yibei interrupted again, “Are you really at ease leaving me here? You probably still don’t trust me, do you?”
As she spoke, she intentionally lowered her voice, infusing her words with a hint of a sinister tone.
“How did you…” Xia Lianqing looked at Lu Yibei, her eyes wide in surprise.
She suddenly felt that the little girl before her was somewhat terrifying, as if her deep-set eyes could peer through her body and see her soul entirely.
Such a gaze, she had only seen in the tribal priestess before.
Could it be that although she looked young, she was actually an old hag? It seemed there were such legends circulating? Xia Lianqing thought nervously.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Lu Yibei shrugged, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have let me stay by your side, would you? So, just let me go with you!”
“Sister, you wouldn’t want to see something you don’t like happen here after you leave, right? And don’t rely on that young man from earlier; he looks foolish and wouldn’t be a match for me.”
Saying this, she casually picked up a dried flower from a vase nearby and crushed it into powder with her fingertips with a crisp sound.
Upon hearing this, Xia Lianqing’s expression darkened, and she lowered her voice to ask, “Who exactly are you?”
“Haven’t I already told you before?” Lu Yibei tilted her head, seemingly returning to her initial harmless and naive demeanor, “I am Shen Baiwei from Sword State! Sister, have you forgotten?”
Xia Lianqing, “…”
