Chapter 103 A second-rate assassin has no future 15
Zhang Liang's expression gradually faded, but his mind was not confused by the repeated dream cycles. He calmly and respectfully asked Him, "Who are you, and why are you doing this?"
His outward attitude was not offensive, yet he secretly observed the person who had changed his life.
Zhang Liang wasn't even sure if he was alive at this moment, or where the dream had started. Perhaps if he opened his eyes now, he would see the strongmen he had summoned and the lush reeds around him.
Or perhaps he would wake up in a prison cell, where he would only be faced with the filthy environment and maybe a few rats.
“I am ‘Qin’. As for why I do this,” Zhu Qing’ai covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled, “you don’t need to know yet. What you should know is that you, as a third-rate, no, an insignificant assassin, pose no threat to me.”
Zhang Liang's eyes flickered, unsure of His attitude. He thought this must be a deity, but he didn't understand why He called Himself 'Qin'. If there was 'Qin', then was there 'Han'...?
His homeland...
Zhu Qing'ai saw through Zhang Liang's thoughts, or rather, the dream she created was under her control, so it was normal for her to be able to sense people's subtle and genuine thoughts.
She casually remarked, "'Han' is dead. Even if the kingdom is restored, it won't be her."
"Think about it carefully yourself. A third-rate assassin has no future." Zhu Qing'ai stood up, calmly straightening her sleeves, as if the person giving her advice was not someone who wanted to rebel against her, but her people, her 'children'.
The moment she stood up, the wind stirred, the reeds swayed gently in the wind's direction, and a convoy of cars slowly approached from afar.
Zhu Qing'ai disappeared from the spot, and in her place appeared the burly strongman, who asked in a deep voice, "Zhang...which one do you want to smash?"
Zhang Liang's expression changed repeatedly. He subconsciously pinched his thigh. The scene around him, which had just seemed unreal and dreamlike, now felt unbelievably real.
Is this the power of the gods, or is this the power of the spirit named after Qin?
What chance does he have of winning?
Zhang Liang did not give up his anti-Qin stance because of Qin's words. Instead, he thought that her attitude was unusual and did not seem like she was completely opposed to him and wanted to kill him.
He suddenly smiled and said to the strongman beside him, "No, how could a low-level assassination succeed? Let's part ways here. You go that way..."
He didn't mention his own whereabouts at all. He thought that since Qin Ling had let him go, she must have had a purpose. He needed to think things over and calm down by himself.
The strongman didn't say much, just gave a low "hmm," and clasped his hands in farewell to Zhang Liang: "Since you've made your decision, then we'll part ways here! By the way, I won't refund your money."
Zhang Liang nodded indifferently; money was just an external thing, and worrying about it was meaningless to him.
Seeing that Zhang Liang had nothing more to say, the strongman picked up his bundle and ran into the reeds. He could sell the melted-down iron hammer for a lot of money. Hey, he made a killing this time!
Just as the strongman's figure disappeared into the reeds and the caravan in the distance drew near, Zhang Liang didn't have time to disappear into the reeds and escape into the distance. The scene before him shattered like broken ice.
The colors of everything resembled ice blocks that had shattered on the ground in winter, gradually melting and disappearing.
Zhang Liang was plunged into darkness. He tried to move his arm, but it felt as if he were stuck in a quagmire. Not only could he not move his arm, but he could not even curl up a single finger. His eyelids were also incredibly heavy.
Compared to the real scene just now, Zhang Liang, with a confused yet still somewhat clear mind, believed that this was the real dream.
He closed his eyes, struggling to think of waking up...
Wake up, wake up...
Zhang Liang suddenly sat up. He blinked slowly, then stiffly twisted his neck to look at the familiar decorations in the room.
He raised his hand and touched his neck. Fortunately, his head was still safely on his neck, and nothing terrifying had happened as he had imagined.
At first glance, the environment he was in didn't seem to be a prison; it looked more like a small village he had 'reused' many times before.
He's back, this time truly back to reality.
He tried to recall everything in his dream, but his memory began to blur. He remembered that he had tried to assassinate the emperor several times in the dream, some successfully and some unsuccessfully. But subconsciously, he felt that he should remember someone else more than this.
"..."
Zhang Liang shook his head: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something very important...someone very important."
He got dressed and got out of bed, quickly recalling the scenes from his dream. He felt he should remember someone, he should remember Him?
But the truth is, his impression of Him was very vague; he only remembered that a woman dressed in black had said some important things to him.
And those important words...
He was that second-rate assassin.
He should have felt insulted, but at that moment he also deeply agreed. Indeed, being an assassin had no future; he needed to think of another way…
****
Zhu Qing'ai looked at the man giving up the dead-end career of an assassin and nodded with satisfaction. "You, a strategist, why are you doing the work of an assassin? You were just lucky this time and weren't caught. If you keep acting so recklessly, you'll get caught sooner or later."
Having experienced multiple dreams firsthand, Zhang Liang calmly arranged his affairs after waking up and decided to travel to various places first, hoping to find like-minded people.
If not, he'll consider it an opportunity to broaden his horizons. Of course, he also harbors a more secret thought: perhaps he'll be able to see Him again after traveling across the vast land, and when he does, he'll definitely ask Him the truth...
Wait a minute, what do we need to ask clearly again?
Zhang Liang's brush hovered in mid-air, unable to write the rest of the characters. It wasn't until an ink drop fell onto the wooden piece, blurring the area around the character "定" that he snapped out of his daze. He quickly wiped away the small ink mark with his thumb, leaving only the first half of the sentence.
He couldn't write the second half of the sentence no matter what. He held the bamboo slip in his hand and stared at it, until someone outside the door urged him softly. He wondered to himself, who was he looking for?
****
Another year has passed, spring has gone and autumn has come. Zhu Qing'ai and her host, Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu, celebrated the bumper harvest of grain in the fields and also went to check on the two fish they had caught.
Of course, only Lü Zhi saw her in person. When she looked at Lü Zhi, she also glanced at Liu Bang. Since he was alright, she didn't bother with him anymore.
She had a happy New Year with her host. Although she didn't earn many points in a year, she laid a solid foundation and believed that she would reap a great harvest one day.
Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu also agrees with this. He has learned a lot on his own and is no longer the simpleton of the previous world. Now he is Niu... (crossed out) Wei Sheng Jiu Shi Jiu!
The biggest event this year is probably the start of construction on the Great Wall; this massive project has begun.
Fortunately, the Great Wall is not being built from scratch nowadays, but rather by connecting the existing sections. Although the project is still enormous, it is much better than truly building it from scratch.
She didn't need to inform anyone; Liu Bang, as the village head, already knew about it, and he was even in charge of the recent collection of labor service.
In recent days, more and more people have been coming to his door, but Liu Bang is very cunning. He just laughs it off to everyone and says that he will act in accordance with the law. He would never dare to do anything illegal.
Liu Bang cherished his life very much. He had been working overtime lately and had even lost a lot of hair. Every day, he was calculating the population of each household in the surrounding villages and towns and starting to write lists according to the requirements for conscripting laborers.
First, according to regulations, a family with someone already serving in the military cannot be drafted a second person; secondly…
He spent the whole morning working on a rough list, and once he calculated the quantity, that was about right.
He breathed a sigh of relief, at least he didn't have to figure out where to find more people to fill the gaps.
A day later, Liu Bang wondered if he had forgotten something that day.
He suddenly remembered that he usually cooked for Him to show his respect, and then went to the mountains every day hoping to bump into Him. He had forgotten about it today because he was busy, and only remembered it when he was eating the food cooked by Lü Zhi.
Once Liu Bang remembered, he decided to take action. Of course, before taking action, he had to evaluate the dinner that Lü Zhi had prepared that day. He said, "E'xu, I don't think your cooking is as good as mine."
Lü Zhi's lips twitched. She was already used to Liu Bang's tendency to blurt things out when he got emotional. She coaxed him, "Oh right, your cooking is delicious... then you should cook more in the future."
Liu Bang clapped his hands, thinking the suggestion was brilliant. Before, when he secretly cooked, his wife would ask him if he was seeing someone else. Now he could enter the kitchen openly and legitimately.
Seeing Liu Bang's slightly happy expression, Lü Zhi paused for a moment before reminding him, "Don't waste food."
"Hey, that's impossible!" Liu Bang thumped his chest loudly, making his assurance sound quite convincing.
Hearing his words, Lü Zhi could only chuckle. She neither believed nor disbelieved his nonsense, and simply said, "You've been busy with official duties, so I'll cook dinner tonight."
It wasn't that they really felt sorry for Liu Bang; they were mainly afraid that he would squander all the family's food.
Liu Bang was quick-witted and understood what Lü Zhi meant, but he believed he could handle the situation and nodded in agreement without much concern.
He turned and went into the kitchen to cook another meal, explaining under Lü Zhi's glare that seemed to say, "I'm going out to meet a friend."
Sure enough, her gaze softened with understanding, and she stopped trying to stop him. She simply said, "Remember to come back early. I don't want to come looking for you in the middle of the night."
Liu Bang nodded quickly, picked up his things and ran off. He walked through the village, but instead of going to anyone, he headed out of the village.
When he reached the fork in the road, he turned directly into the mountain.
It wasn't that he was exceptionally skilled or daring; rather, he discovered that since He had appeared once, the ferocious beasts in the mountains, even the highly aggressive wild boars, seemed to have vanished. The hunters in the village had complained about it more than once, and some had even changed professions because of it.
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Author's Note: A few more chapters tonight (peacefully).
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Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-06-12 21:28:02 and 2024-06-19 17:32:22!
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