Chapter 366 Inviting the Lord to His Death
Under Meng Shouguang's curious gaze, Ouyang Rong went to retrieve the zither case.
"Does Mr. Ouyang enjoy playing the zither?"
Ouyang Rong smiled but did not answer.
Meng Shouguang saw him slowly bring out an antique zither case.
Meng Shouguang frowned slightly, shifted his attention, and glanced at the dark blue sky outside the door, his eyes showing some worry.
"Your Highness, Mr. Ouyang, why don't we hurry up and leave the city? It's almost dawn. We can talk about admiring the treasures and the zither once we're in a safe place."
He then solemnly advised Li Xian and Ouyang Rong.
The flower hall was quiet, and no one answered him.
Meng Shouguang looked around and suddenly noticed that all the princes, princesses, heirs, little princesses, and the noble lady Xie were turning their heads to look at Ouyang Lianghan.
Everyone stared intently, ignoring his suggestion.
Only his voice could be heard on the field.
The atmosphere was subdued, and Meng Shouguang looked a little embarrassed, scratching his head:
"Your Highness, everyone, what's going on? Why is everyone so quiet? Did I say something wrong...?"
"General Meng."
Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke.
He skillfully untied the intricate mechanisms of the violin case, casually remarking:
"You are proficient in Qi cultivation techniques. Have you ever heard of a type of Qi cultivator who is as fragile as glass but possesses unparalleled killing power?"
Meng Shouguang's eyes showed a thoughtful expression:
"What Mr. Ouyang is talking about... is the legendary Swordholder's severed meridians."
He nodded earnestly:
"This should be the one that meets the conditions you mentioned."
"However, I have never seen one. The number of Qi cultivators who have mastered the sword-wielding meridian in this world is probably even fewer than the elusive Celestials of the Divine Land."
"The main problem is that the Dingjian sword is extremely rare. There are only a handful of Dingjian swords left in existence. Without the Dingjian sword, a swordsman is like a carp without water or a bird without wings. Not only is it as fragile as glass, but its killing power is also negligible, leaving him at the mercy of others..."
Is this it?
Meng Shouguang frowned slightly when his words were interrupted, but in the next instant, his eyes widened like copper bells as he watched someone in front of him draw an arc of light from the violin case with two fingers and casually hand it over, indicating that he should reward him.
The arc light was a deep, clear blue, like ripples on a lake reflecting the blue sky, ruffled by a gentle breeze.
Meng Shouguang had never seen anything so mythical before. Its colors were dreamlike and ethereal, and it came from a seemingly ordinary zither box that had not long ago.
"Mr. Ouyang, could this be... the legendary Ding Sword!?"
"uh-huh."
Ouyang Rong smiled at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and maintained the same posture of twisting his fingers and presenting the "arc".
Meng Shouguang swallowed hard, wiped his hands on his robe, and reached out to take it.
The next instant, the arc of light twisted left and right, broke free from Ouyang Rong's fingers, and flew upwards.
It stopped in mid-air.
It hung quietly three feet above the heads of Ouyang Rong and Meng Shouguang.
Meng Shouguang looked up and saw it, his expression blank. The next moment he came to his senses and asked in shock:
"Wait, could it be that Mr. Ouyang is the sword wielder?"
"That's right, hey, you still couldn't escape General Meng's discerning eyes."
"Mr. Ouyang, you flatter me. With such a legendary item already mentioned and the conversation going this far, how could I not have guessed it..."
Meng Shouguang's gaze toward Ouyang Rong grew increasingly respectful:
"I haven't yet asked, Mr. Ouyang, what rank of swordsman do you hold?"
"Not high, only ninth rank," Ouyang Rong said with a smile.
Meng Shouguang said calmly:
"It's already a prodigy..." He then asked, "I haven't asked its real name yet, or what the legendary flavor is."
"Bend over".
"How come I've never heard of it? Am I just ignorant?" Meng Shouguang looked puzzled. By now, he no longer urged them to leave. After a pause, he cautiously asked:
"Mr. Ouyang, could you tell me which sword technique you have learned?"
Xie Lingjiang, Li Xian, and the others glanced sideways and noticed that Ouyang Rong was very patient:
"Returning Home, the Sword Technique of a Poor Scholar."
"The Sword Techniques of the Poor Scholar? I've heard of it. Legend has it that each sword technique is a divine sword skill and a deadly art."
"That's right."
"Mr. Ouyang also has one?"
Ouyang Rong nodded and confessed:
"Yes, the swordsman's divine skill is called 'Return to the Past,' which requires a cloth sword."
Meng Shouguang said with a look of relief:
"Now that's good, we have two seventh-grade Qi cultivators and one legendary swordsman who is close to seventh grade. We can be sure of our safety when we leave the city this time."
"That makes sense."
Ouyang Rong agreed; his candid and open answers moved Meng Shouguang somewhat.
“Mr. Ouyang, Your Highness, I never expected you to trust me so much.”
"It's alright, we're all on the same side, we'll be on our way soon."
Ouyang Rong smiled slightly, and Li Xian beside him nodded reluctantly, smiling at Meng Shouguang.
Meng Shouguang was greatly encouraged and immediately stood up:
"Alright, alright, let's hurry up and go, it's almost dawn."
Ouyang Rong sat motionless in the chair:
"Okay, sure."
Seeing him completely motionless, Meng Shouguang was puzzled:
"Mr. Ouyang? Your Highness? Why isn't anyone moving?"
"Wait, there are still three breaths left." Ouyang Rong treated him like family.
"What three breaths?" Meng Shouguang looked confused. "Mr. Ouyang, I don't understand what you're saying..."
Ouyang Rong said helplessly, "Stop arguing, we're setting up the sword."
"A cloth sword? Cloth... what kind of sword is this..."
The air in the flower hall fell into a deathly silence.
Meng Shouguang froze.
Li Xian and Li Dalang turned their gazes away, unable to bear the sight.
Wei Mei's face showed some indignation and resentment.
Xie Lingjiang and Li Guo'er cast their cold gazes at the long-armed man standing directly below the suspended arc of light, who was staring in disbelief.
Ouyang Rong smiled. Although the person in front of him was clearly a seventh-rank martial artist, he was very accommodating and waited for fifteen breaths, giving him the same treatment as Qiu Shenji, a sixth-rank Qi cultivator.
"Why!"
The long-armed man suddenly roared, his tone filled with surprise and confusion.
Unfortunately, his response was a deathly silence from the crowd, and... bowing down.
Meng Shouguang charged toward the smiling youth in front of him, his speed creating an afterimage, but he was cut off in half by an arc.
A literal truncation.
Flaws!
A slightly muffled, somewhat obstructive sound echoed through the flower hall.
To Ouyang Rong's ears, it sounded like the sound of scissors cutting through tough materials like leather—a sound that combined the resistance caused by the material's inherent toughness with the clean, swift cut of the incredibly sharp scissors.
The long-armed man was cut into four pieces.
Upper body, lower body, left forearm, half of right palm.
Clearly, it was severed in half by this deep blue arc of light.
Ouyang Rong remained seated, his eyes fixed on the four Meng Shouguang figures convulsing and struggling on the ground.
The air was filled with the stench of blood and the odor of intestines and other organs. Li Dalang's face turned pale, and he suddenly covered his mouth and vomited. Apart from him, Xie Lingjiang, Li Guo'er, Li Xian, and Wei Mei endured their physical discomfort and came over.
Xie Lingjiang silently picked up the violin case.
The "arc" spun around in the air, like a victorious little hen, and returned to the half-open zither case in Xie Lingjiang's arms after its triumphant turn.
The craftsmanship, from the cloth sword to the bending of the waist, is clean and efficient throughout, without any unnecessary embellishment.
And no blood splattered out; only after the prey was divided into four pieces did dark red blood ooze from the cut surfaces of the wounds.
"General Meng, come, let's have a heart-to-heart talk."
Ouyang Rong nodded at the still struggling upper body among the "four parts of Meng Shouguang," pointing his index finger towards the door:
"Is someone outside waiting for Your Highness, the Heir Apparent, and me for a long time? Once we leave the manor and the city, they'll throw a huge tirade of fireworks and firecrackers to give us a warm welcome?"
"Heh...heh..."
Meng Shouguang coughed violently, his bloodied mouth gushing out his intestines and internal organs. He didn't answer Ouyang Rong's question, and instead, with his upper body contorted in a grimace, he desperately crawled towards the gate, his face contorted in a ferocious expression.
“Ouyang Lianghan, you…you are despicable and shameless! You dared to plot against me, you shameless villain! Shameless scoundrel! Shall we fight face to face…I’ll haunt you even in death…”
Li Guo'er watched coldly, and sneered:
"Your father has been kind enough to promote you. If it weren't for Ouyang Lianghan, I would have been deceived by you, this 'loyal and virtuous' person. Is this how you repay your father?"
Meng Shouguang's upper body jerked violently, and he turned around to roar at Li Xian:
"I saved your life in the first place, and as for the so-called favor of promotion, I've already repaid it all after sitting on the sidelines for so many years. Now you're repaying me with your life, so what!"
Li Dalang, who had been vomiting, suddenly stepped forward, picked up a stool, and smashed it against the twisted, bloody face of "Uncle Meng" once, twice, three times, like a hammer hitting a wooden stake.
Faced with this former general's "repayment of kindness," Li Xian stood there blankly, his face filled with sorrow.
Not long ago, Meng Shouguang was a fierce seventh-rank martial artist. However, he was beaten so badly by Li Dalang, who was so weak that he could not even kill a chicken. His face was smashed and his dantian was destroyed. He cried out in pain, unable to resist, and gradually died.
Everyone turned to look at the figure frantically smashing things.
With a loud clang.
The stool slipped from Li Dalang's hands, and he fell to the ground, where blood pooled. His expression was blank, and then he began to vomit violently again.
Ouyang Rong got up and walked away.
"Auntie, take Dalang downstairs to calm down."
He took out a small wooden tube from his bosom, tilted the tube, and poured the thin stream of burning dragon oil onto Meng Shouguang's corpse, the table, chairs, and tea tray.
The amount of Burning Heaven Dragon Oil he carried was not much, not enough to completely destroy the body and eliminate all traces, but it was enough for a large fire.
Ouyang Rong went over, took a lamp, and handed it to Li Xian:
"Your Highness, wait for me here. From now on, no one is allowed to leave the manor until I return."
"good."
Ouyang Rong then asked Wei Mei, "Do you still have the medicine for feigning illness that you obtained from Zaoge Mountain before?"
"There's one left, in the hidden compartment in the master bedroom."
"Bring it here."
"good."
After making the arrangements, Ouyang Rong walked out of the flower hall, followed by Li Guo'er and Xie Lingjiang.
A moment later, the door to one of the reception rooms opened from the outside.
"Brother Lianghan! Your Highness, Miss Xie, what's going on here...?"
Wang Junzhi turned his head and looked curiously at the group of people who had arrived late at night.
Li Guo'er followed behind, while Xie Lingjiang carried a zither case.
Ouyang Rong walked over, sat down in front of Wang Junzhi, stared at him, and didn't say anything.
What was that noise outside just now?
Ouyang Rong did not answer.
Li Guo'er walked over, picked up a raw pear from the fruit plate, took out a sword from her sleeve, and carefully peeled it.
The three who entered were a man sitting silently, a man holding a zither, and a man peeling a pear.
Wang Junzhi sensed that something was amiss and was about to speak.
At this moment, Xie Lingjiang stepped forward and reached out her hand to Wang Junzhi.
The latter realized what was happening and immediately handed back the moonlight longsword that might have made him commit suicide.
Wang Junzhi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Guo'er suddenly raised her head, handed Wang Junzhi a peeled pear, and smiled gently.
Wang Junzhi was flattered and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Xie Lingjiang glanced at it. In the past, when they discussed matters in the study, she would always peel pears and hand them to her senior brother. It had almost become a habit. Li Guo'er had never taken the initiative to peel pears for anyone else.
Wang Junzhi smiled faintly and waved the plump pear in his hand:
"It seems that Your Highness and Brother Lianghan have already made their choices."
“Smart.” Ouyang Rong nodded.
Wang Junzhi, a germaphobe, wiped the pear with a handkerchief, but before he could take a bite, Ouyang Rong suddenly asked:
"Brother Wang went to Yuan Huaimin to inquire about the 'Return to My Hometown' poem and the 'Peach Blossom Spring.' What was the purpose of this visit?"
Wang Junzhi's expression remained unchanged: "Admiring Tao Qian is just an interest."
"I know the poem 'Returning Home,' do you want me to recite it for you?"
Ouyang Rong asked with a smile.
Wang Junzhi was taken aback: "You..."
Ouyang Rong interrupted, "So, you're looking for sword techniques, so does Master Li have a cauldron sword? Or at least a clue?"
Wang Junzhi's expression remained unchanged: "What sword technique, what cauldron sword, I don't understand."
In the next instant, he saw the zither case in Xie Lingjiang's arms open with a clang, and an "arc" floated in front of Ouyang Rong, exuding a mythical aura.
"What a coincidence, I have one too." Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly.
Wang Junzhi's expression immediately became incredibly interesting: "You...you are also a Swordholder!"
"So, Brother Wang, among the four of you—Lord Li, Mr. Wei, and Brother Du—who is still the swordsman?"
Wang Junzhi didn't answer, swallowed hard, and couldn't help but say more:
"Mr. Li and Mr. Wei never expected that you were the swordsman, and that you possessed a cauldron sword that they had never heard of before..."
"Brother Lianghan, the power of the Ding Sword is too great for a single swordsman to improve his cultivation and fully unleash its power. We know how to use it to the maximum extent. Join us! If you join us, you will be more than just a Left Chief Secretary. If we unite, great things can be accomplished!"
"Unite? What big things can we do by uniting?"
"Naturally, we must overthrow the tyrannical guard."
"And then?" he asked calmly.
"Then restore order to the state!"
"It's still the same old story of emperors and generals, right? There's nothing new."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Ouyang Rong's eyes. He stood up, walked to the door, and turned back to say:
"Uncle Li told me to open the door and let you out, but Uncle has a small request. Would you be willing to grant it, Brother Wang?"
Wang Junzhi smiled and said, "Brother Lianghan, please speak."
"Please, my lord, go to your death."
Ouyang Rong said softly, with an apologetic expression, "Let the corpse go."
Wang Junzhi's smile froze, and his expression changed drastically.
*Pfft!*
A sword plunged deep into his abdomen.
"Uh...uh..." Wang Junzhi struggled to wipe away the gushing blood with a clean white handkerchief, his eyes wide as he questioned Li Guo'er, "Your Highness, why...why..."
His response was a series of three consecutive stabs, and Wang Junzhi collapsed like a rag doll, writhing in pain as he slowly closed his eyes.
The pear rolled onto the floor, stained with bright red abdominal blood.
Li Guo'er's pretty face remained calm as she bent down to pick up the blood pear, extending one hand to hand it to Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong glanced at her sideways, then at the pear flesh tightly clutched in the blood-stained slender hand in front of him.
Noticing his gaze, Li Guo'er pursed her lips, surprisingly without the haughty "take it or leave it" attitude. She bent down, wiped her hands with the hem of her skirt, sliced off half of the blood pear with the blade of her sword, and handed it back to him.
Ouyang Rong silently took half a clean pear, took a bite of the pear flesh, and strode out the door, followed by Li Guo'er and Xie Lingjiang.
"Looking at it now, the possibility you mentioned is quite likely."
Suddenly, Li Guo'er's voice came from behind, calmly analyzing:
“If General Qin has not been exposed and instead knows the exact situation outside, then the best option is indeed to keep the crabapple blossoms unchanged and let us do nothing in the palace, rather than changing them to azaleas and causing wild speculation.”
"What a brilliant 'golden knife' strategy!"
Ouyang Rong smiled broadly:
"Let's go see them. Don't keep Governor Wang and the sixth-rank palace maid waiting."
(End of this chapter)
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