“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Yuwen Sheng’s attention is completely drawn to Mo Ye’s side, and he doesn’t have many elite troops around him. If we miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult for us to make a move in the future.”
His words were eloquent and logical, yet they carried an air of arrogance that showed no regard for her life or death.
Zheng Quchi was racking his brains to try to evade taxes when he heard Qiu say, "This assassination will also prove that you never intended to betray the Mo family."
Her expression froze.
Autumn's eyes were cold, like a weapon frozen in blood, devoid of any emotion, stubbornly adhering to orders.
Her intuition told her that if she refused, Qiu would really kill her.
People sometimes need to be flexible and change their mindset, right?
Zheng Quchi looked embarrassed and secretly comforted himself.
If... she could really kill Yuwen Sheng, perhaps her current dilemma could be resolved.
But is it really possible to kill them?
She's not like Zheng Quchi from the Mohist school; this is the first time she's ever killed someone with a crossbow!
"Let's go."
Qiu turned and walked ahead.
"Wait," Zheng Quchi suddenly called out to him, "Do you have any money on you?"
Qiu turned around: "What do you need money for?"
"Never mind, give it to me."
Besides being extremely serious about the mission, Qiu was usually like a natural airhead, so he didn't refuse her and instead gave her the only five copper coins he had.
Zheng Quchi took the money, ran to the pharmacy across the street to consult a doctor and get the medicine, and then stuffed the medicine packet into his pocket.
Then she rushed to a nearby clothing store and bought the cheapest men's clothes in the store. When she came out again, she was an inconspicuous little black-haired girl after changing her clothes.
Back in the dark alley, she took out a black cloth that she had begged for free and carefully covered her face.
I learned all of this from Dan Bian. When you're a traitor, you have to be prepared to protect your identity no matter what.
“…You’ve been corrupted by Shan Bian.” Qiu stared straight at her.
Zheng Quchi remained noncommittal, then pulled out a piece of black cloth: "Here, I've prepared one for you too."
Qiu paused for a moment, then hesitantly reached out and took it. Only after confirming that it was a gift for him did he lower his head as if he had done something wrong, and stammered, "Thank you..."
——
Qiu possessed the professional qualities of an assassin. He had taken shortcuts and scouted the area in advance, knowing which location was the most suitable for an ambush.
Zheng Quchi, like a bystander, was led by Qiu to a slope.
She was asked to find a secluded spot to squat down and watch him tidy up the area, using branches to make the sparse bushes even denser.
They patrolled around for a while to see if any suspicious people were around.
Finally, they went down the slope to the dirt road that had been trampled by many people and set up a trap.
He scattered a handful of sharp, thorny things on the ground, then kicked the sand to make a simple cover, so that it wouldn't be so obvious.
Zheng Quchi guessed that he might have thrown caltrops.
In her world, caltrops were a type of obstacle that existed as early as the Warring States period. They were made of sharp triangular iron plates strung together and thrown on the ground to effectively impede the movement of soldiers, especially cavalry.
"I've made all the arrangements."
He used his light-footed skill to leap up, and then kept a close eye on Zheng Quchi.
That silent, urging gaze was somewhat unsettling.
Zheng Quchi, feeling the intense gaze directed at him, gave an awkward yet polite smile: "This crossbow isn't one I'm used to, so I need to familiarize myself with it first."
Upon hearing this, Qiu accepted it readily, and his gaze softened somewhat. However, as if remembering something, he frowned and said, "I heard you are skilled with repeating crossbows, but I have searched all over Fu County and found none. This is a single crossbow stolen from the Ye Kingdom's military camp. You shall make do with it."
Judging from his dissatisfied expression, it was as if he was disgusted that Ye Kingdom couldn't even make a good crossbow, and was truly trash.
The Mohists are so great! Even if the military machinery of the Ye Kingdom is rubbish, at least there's still the living Yama Yuwen Sheng to hold it together. Look how proud you are.
Zheng Quchi, who held the household registration of Ye State, felt uncomfortable with the fact that his country had been belittled by the rebel army.
But after muttering those thoughts to herself, she realized that she was now also a member of the rebels, so she resigned herself to her fate, picked up the crossbow, and began to study it.
Zheng Quchi has devoted considerable effort to studying most of the wooden artifacts from ancient and modern times for which there are available records and images.
She has also published papers such as "A Discussion on Ancient Chinese Weapons" and "A Discussion on Cold Weapons of the Song and Yuan Dynasties" in national academic journals.
Therefore, she was familiar with the form and history of the crossbow.
The crossbow first appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period, and by the late Warring States Period, it had evolved into a powerful bronze crossbow.
Crossbows generally have greater draw strength, range, and power than bows, but due to the excessive draw strength causing a slower stringing speed, crossbows have a much lower firing frequency than bows.
The crossbow in front of her, made by the craftsmen of Ye, consists of a bow, a crossbow arm, and a crossbow mechanism. The sight is called "Wangshan". She knows its structure and purpose very well, but can theory and practice be the same?
She felt uneasy.
When Zheng Quchi picked up the crossbow, she thought she would be flustered, but the result was beyond her expectations.
Perhaps it was the muscle memory that this body had long since developed, but she skillfully gripped the lower part of the crossbow with one hand and controlled the firing mechanism with the other, drawing the string, nocking the arrow, and aiming while kneeling. The whole set of movements was as smooth as flowing water, swift and graceful.
Qiu's eyes widened slightly: "Every time I see you, the one wielding a crossbow to kill is completely different from the person you are in real life."
Not only his eyes, movements, and expression, but even his breathing became different from usual.
Zheng Quchi was also dumbfounded.
But the thought of suddenly gaining an awesome skill excited her. At least besides brute force, she would have another offensive ability to defend herself.
However, she had just tested the crossbow from Ye Kingdom and found it to be terrible. The mechanical draw was difficult, the range was short, and the power was low. She planned to build a modern composite crossbow herself when she had time.
"There's movement!"
Qiu's expression suddenly changed. He lay down on the ground, pressing his ear to the ground to detect any movement.
At this moment, he heard Zheng Quchi above say in a low voice, "It is less than a mile from here. About thirty spirited horses are coming at full speed. They will reach the trap in about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea."
Qiu looked up in surprise, puzzled and astonished.
"Your reconnaissance skills are really that good?"
Zheng Quchi was speechless: "Why don't you stand up first, and then look into the distance from my direction? Wouldn't it be obvious at a glance?"
Qiu was stunned when she heard this.
Realizing he might have done something foolish, Qiu's ears turned bright red, but his face remained blank and emotionless. He turned around and saw a large group of people rushing towards him from the bushes.
He straightened up and said seriously, "Once they are near the trap, seize the opportunity to strike."
Zheng Quchi: "Oh."
Clatter, clatter—the sound of horses' hooves thundered as they pounded the ground like a torrential downpour.
Almost there...
Zheng Quchi assumed the standard shooting stance, squinted, and aimed.
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