Chapter Twenty-Three: If you don't want to die, listen to me!
The garrison was indeed heavily guarded, with countless soldiers in black armor patrolling in large numbers, surrounding the entire garrison.
Even Chen Qing, a woman, had to be searched before she could see Commander Liu, in case she was carrying any lethal weapons.
Chen Qing was taken to a separate room, where there were only two rather old women.
"Miss Chen, please remove your clothes."
Chen Qing didn't bother arguing with them about these things, and simply opened her hands to let them examine her carefully.
"Are you done?"
"Alright, please take off your hairpin as well, young lady."
Chen Qing smiled knowingly. This Liu Wei was such a coward. Of course, if he really had guts, he wouldn't be hiding in Qibao Town, guarding it like a turtle hiding in its shell.
She took off the hairpin and handed it to the old woman.
After checking and confirming that everything was correct, Chen Qing was led by Liu Shoubei's deputy to the study to see Liu Wei.
Soldiers with weapons stood on both sides of the long corridor. Chen Qing couldn't help but ask curiously, "Deputy General Zhao, I noticed that the situation in the mansion is different from when I last came. Has something happened?"
When they got off the carriage, Chen Qing secretly slipped a gold nail to Vice General Zhao, weighing at least ten taels.
Although Deputy General Zhao had a cold expression, he still patiently answered Chen Qing's questions.
"Nothing happened in the manor. When you see the lord, do not make wild guesses."
Chen Qing said "Oh," thinking that something must have happened. Were they refugees? Or potential enemies of Liu Wei?
None of that matters anymore.
After walking for a quarter of an hour, Chen Qing finally met Liu Wei.
Liu Wei's residence was very large, with a particularly complex landscape of mountains, water, and gardens.
In the typical residences of these wealthy people, the owner usually lives in the central position. However, Liu Wei was clearly on guard against something; he lived in a secluded villa, and from the outside, it was impossible to tell that the most distinguished owner lived there.
"My lord, Miss Chen has arrived."
"Let her in."
With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open, and a warm breeze came in.
Chen Qing lifted his foot, stepped over the threshold, and entered the room.
The charcoal brazier is burning with precious gold charcoal, which is said to be more expensive than gold. It burns without producing ash and has a faint sandalwood scent.
The beaded curtains used to conceal the room were all made of pearls from the East China Sea. It is said that these pearls were harvested by virgin pearl divers who would dive into the sea to collect them. For every ten pearls, at least one pearl diver had died.
These two beaded curtains are adorned with at least a hundred beads. Such a grand gesture is something even the wealthy Chen family of Qingzhou wouldn't casually use pearls from the East China Sea for beaded curtains.
Chen Qing glanced at Liu Wei and took in all his extravagance.
Liu Wei was sitting behind his desk when he saw Chen Qing come in. He put down the folded paper in his hand and looked up at Chen Qing through the beaded curtain.
Chen Qing's figure was faintly visible as she gracefully stepped forward, her fair hands lifting the beaded curtain.
Upon seeing her unusually strong physique, Liu Wei looked disheartened.
"Niece Chen, I heard from your father that you wanted to see me about something, that you wanted to offer me a treasure?"
Compared to their first meeting, Liu Wei became increasingly blatant in revealing his greed.
Chen Qing could clearly see the disappointment in his eyes, and a feeling of disgust spread through her heart, which she then suppressed.
"Yes, I have a precious gift for you, sir. It is extremely rare and only my daughter can produce such a gift, even in the Chen family."
Chen Qing said confidently, her expression radiant, somewhat unlike the typical young ladies raised in seclusion.
Upon hearing this, Liu Wei became interested and leaned forward. "Oh? There are such rare treasures in the world? What are they?"
Chen Qing smiled confidently and was about to take out her Kagune from her sleeve when she noticed Liu Wei's gaze subtly shifting to the side as he watched her reach for her sleeve.
No! There are other people in the room!
Chen Qing lowered his eyes, and couldn't help but sigh that Liu Wei was far too cautious.
There were at least dozens of guards outside, but even though he was alone in the room, would he still be protected?
Chen Qing didn't know how many other people were in the room, nor did she know how skilled they were in martial arts. She had originally planned to coerce Liu Wei and seize power directly, but she never expected that there were other people in the room.
If the guards hiding in the shadows were as skilled in martial arts as Li Yi, Chen Qing wasn't sure he could escape unscathed.
Now is not a good time to take action.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Chen Qing followed Liu Shoubei's gaze to the bookshelf where the person was most likely to be hiding. "Lord Liu, is there anyone else in the room?"
Liu Wei hadn't expected Chen Qing, a woman, to be so perceptive.
"Oh, they are guards I invited. Niece, you don't need to worry about them."
Chen Qing lowered his hand, saying with a hint of regret, "I'm not sure if this person is trustworthy, because once I take out the treasure, it will surely arouse the envy of everyone in the world. If someone takes the opportunity to seize the treasure, Lord Liu... can you protect it?"
She looked anxious, her gaze drifting unnoticed behind the bookshelf.
Chen Qing realized that she had said something wrong.
The smell of burning charcoal doesn't seem to be sandalwood or agarwood.
That pleasant smell came from a third person hiding behind the bookshelf.
Liu Wei frowned, somewhat unwilling to believe Chen Qing's words.
“What treasure in this world could be so tempting? Niece Chen, don’t exaggerate.”
Chen Qing remained silent, but smiled.
She said softly, "What if I told you that whoever obtains this item will obtain the world?"
Liu Wei's breath hitched, and the next second, his fingers gripped the paper on the table so tightly that they pierced through the back of the paper.
"What did you say?"
"This is the treasure that I wish to present to you, my lord, that will help you conquer the world!" Chen Qing affirmed.
"I am not very talented, but I understand the principle that a single leaf can foretell the coming of autumn. The world is in chaos, people are displaced, the court is indifferent, and the people are lying in the snow, knowing only that they will live today and not that they will die tomorrow. The more chaotic the times, the more we need a shrewd and capable leader to bring peace to the world."
Chen Qing's phoenix eyes gleamed as she spoke eloquently, "I can see that Lord Liu is indeed a hero! Now that you are holding Qibao Town, with troops and provisions at your disposal, your most urgent task is to seize other nearby towns. It is precisely because I see this that I have dared to ask my father to grant me an audience with you and to offer you a treasure that can help you seize the Great Treasure!"
Her words were highly persuasive; in just a few short sentences, she delivered a passionate speech that made Liu Wei breathless and unable to suppress his fantasies of being emperor.
Before Chen Qing gave him some pointers, Liu Wei had never thought about becoming emperor. He was just occupying Qibao Town. How could he possibly unify the world?
But now, he suddenly feels that he has hope!
Only Liu Wei himself knew that there were at least 30,000 dan of grain and fodder in Qibao Town, enough for an army of 100,000 to prepare for battle until next spring...
Thinking of all this, Liu Wei chuckled and looked at Chen Qing with admiration.
He got up and walked towards Chen Qing, looking as if he had found a kindred spirit, and asked Chen Qing to sit down.
“Niece Chen, sit down, sit down and talk,” Liu Wei was like a completely different person. He grabbed Chen Qing’s hand and patted her, saying, “Qing’er, your uncle never expected you to be so clever and intelligent. No wonder your father was reluctant to marry you into my family and sent that concubine’s daughter to appease me.”
"If my Liu family could marry a daughter-in-law like you, we would be extremely fortunate."
Chen Qing lowered her eyes slightly, her phoenix eyes narrowed, wishing she could smash Liu Wei's hand to pieces.
What kind of person dares to touch her?
Casually withdrawing her hand, Chen Qing pretended to be flattered and quickly stood up, saying, "I dare not, I only admire Uncle's actions and am moved by them. As a woman, I have no other choice but to offer the treasure, so please do not refuse, Uncle."
Liu Wei naturally wouldn't refuse a benefit offered to him. He chuckled and thought that the identity of the person hiding in the room was indeed unsuitable for seeing the treasure. If it was really as Chen Qing said, everyone who saw the treasure would be tempted, and it would be hard to guarantee that the guard he had paid for wouldn't betray him.
Thinking of this, Liu Wei waved his hand and said, "Come out, let my good niece meet you too."
The next second, a man silently emerged from the shadows of the bookshelf.
He stood there quietly, like a frozen lake, radiating coldness. His dark hair was tied up, and a silver mask covered his face, revealing only his left eye, yet one could still discern the deep, sharp contours of his features, as if meticulously sculpted by a master craftsman. His skin was a pale white, untouched by the sun, and under the candlelight, it shone like porcelain, reflecting a warm glow.
He was an extremely handsome man, whose chilling aura was so intense it was almost suffocating.
Chen Qing looked him up and down and saw that he was holding a jade sword. He wondered who was more powerful, the man or the woman Li Yi.
In a boastful tone, Liu Wei said, "Niece, what do you think of him? I spent a thousand taels of silver to hire this assassin from Hanxing Pavilion!"
Wait, Hanxing Pavilion?
In other words, the person in front of us, like Li Yi, is an assassin from the Cold Star Pavilion?
If you can pay a lot of money to have someone from the Cold Star Pavilion kill someone, you can also buy them to protect someone.
Chen Qing never expected that Liu Wei would hire an assassin to protect him.
A sense of relief welled up inside her. Luckily, she hadn't acted rashly; otherwise, if Liu Wei had died, she would have died too.
After all, the assassin had received money from Liu Wei and wouldn't be coerced by her.
Chen Qing pondered to himself how to kill Liu Wei right under the assassin's nose.
On the surface, however, she feigned an innocent and naive demeanor: "Wow! Uncle is so knowledgeable. Is he very capable? Why is he so expensive?"
Liu Wei boasted smugly, "He's one of the top ten assassins in the Cold Star Pavilion, codenamed Galaxy. Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, but it's also said that his beauty is captivating. There are rumors that many noble ladies and important figures would hire him for personal protection even when there's no real danger. Do you know why?"
That old man! He starts making dirty jokes at the drop of a hat!
Yinhe stood there quietly, letting people point and whisper about him, even when they talked about his scandals. He remained expressionless, looking like a sophisticated robot.
Chen Qing feigned ignorance, "This young lady doesn't understand, but let's hurry up and let him leave. I can't wait to give the treasure to my uncle!"
Liu Wei laughed heartily and said to Yinhe, "Alright, we don't need you here anymore, you can leave for now."
The Milky Way remained motionless.
Liu Wei thought he hadn't heard him and suddenly roared, "Are you deaf? I told you to get out of the way!"
"Close protection, no leaving," Yinhe suddenly spoke.
His voice sounded just like the tone of a cello, melodious and pleasant, with a deep quality that made your ears feel soothed and numb just by listening to it.
"I don't need your protection anymore, don't you understand?"
Liu Wei's sudden outburst of anger made him want to punch Yinhe.
Yinhe nodded and left the room.
The door closed, leaving only Liu Wei and Chen Qing in the room.
Chen Qing asked calmly, "Isn't Lord Liu afraid of retaliation after treating him like this?"
Liu Wei paused, seemingly not having considered these questions, but then he explained, "No, you don't understand these beasts. They only kill when someone pays them."
"Oh, I see."
Chen Qing suddenly realized.
Liu Wei said urgently, "Now it's just the two of us. What is that treasure of yours? Let me take a look!"
Chen Qing didn't delay any longer and took out the Kagune without saying a word; she took it directly from her spatial storage.
In Liu Wei's eyes, it was as if Chen Qing had magically produced a small silver object in his hand.
The dark opening faced Liu Wei, but he had no idea what it was.
She asked doubtfully, "My dear niece, is this the treasure you were talking about?"
He thought it was some kind of imperial seal.
Chen Qing gave a playful smile. "Yes, this is a good thing, very powerful."
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. "Bang!"
Liu Wei didn't even see clearly before he heard a sharp crack. A sharp pain shot through his knee, and when he looked down, he realized that his knee had been punched through and was bleeding bright red blood.
"ah!!!"
Liu Wei let out a heart-wrenching scream, "Help! Help! I'm in danger!"
Before Vice General Zhao led his men into the house, Chen Qing was already standing calmly beside Liu Wei, pressing the cold muzzle of his gun against his temple.
"Lord Liu, if you want to live, don't shout anymore, or you won't be able to hear my next request, and you might lose your life."
Chen Qingren spoke harshly, but his face was all smiles.
"How dare you! You actually dared to assassinate Lord Liu! Don't you want your family to live?"
Chen Qing grunted "Hmm?" and lowered his head to ask Commander Liu, "Hey, Commander Liu, your deputy is asking you if you still want to live. What are you going to say?"
Liu Wei was in so much pain that he soiled himself, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly shouted, "No! Don't do anything rash! Just tell me what you want, as long as you spare my life!"
This was exactly the effect Chen Qing wanted. She had someone bring her a chair, forced Liu Wei into the courtyard, made him kneel down, and then sat in the chair, pointing her gun at Liu Wei and beginning to give orders.
"Listen carefully, if you want to live, you must do as I say, otherwise, your head will be punched with a bloody hole, just like your patella, understand?"
"I understand! I understand everything!"
Liu Wei was completely devoid of his previous arrogance, kneeling there like a clown.
He saw Yinhe, whom he had just driven out of the study, standing not far away, watching all this, and his hope was rekindled.
Since he is one of the top ten assassins in the Cold Star Pavilion, he must have a way to keep his promise and save his life, right?
Little did Chen Qing know, he was also extremely wary of Yinhe.
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