Zhou Shu spurred his horse forward. The Great Xia diplomatic mission didnât stop. Soon, all of them left Hangu Pass and entered the borders of Great Liang.
Xu Shi and Wang Mu watched as the Great Xia diplomatic mission left. They looked at each other and saw the complexity in each otherâs eyes.
âAre you really hurt?â Wang Mu couldnât help asking.
âDo you doubt me?â Xu Shi snorted coldly. âHis spiritual essence cultivation is indeed only at the fifth rank, but his physical strength is definitely not as simple as that. Either he was born with divine strength, or he has specially tempered his body.â
âItâs said that the You Marquis cultivated the Great Xiaâs Emperor Xuan Jade Book. Back then, Emperor Xuan was famous for his powerful bodyâ¦â Wang Mu pondered.
âItâs useless to talk about this now. I underestimated my enemy.â
If he had treated Zhou Shu as a true opponent right from the start, then even if Zhou Shuâs physical strength exceeded the fifth rank, it would have been impossible for him to injure him.
In the end, he had underestimated his enemy.
âLord Xu, Lord Xu, youâve always been steady. Whyâ¦â Wang Mu sighed.
Xu Shi snorted coldly. How could I have expected such a thing to happen?
âTell me. What should we do now?â Wang Mu said.
Great Xia had always been worried that Great Qin would mobilize its troops. In fact, Great Qin had already reached its limit. They didnât dare to really attack Great Xiaâs diplomatic mission.
It was not quite accurate to say that they didnât dare.
To be precise, they didnât want to fall out with Great Xia now.
The current situation in Great Qin was tense. They had to take revenge on Great Wei while dealing with their own matters. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were in a terrible fix.
If they fell out with Great Xia, it would really add fuel to the fire.
Therefore, they didnât dare to go too far.
âIf we canât do it the hard way, weâll have to do it the soft way.â Xu Shi sighed. âYouâve had more contact with the Great Xia diplomatic mission. Does the You Marquis have any preferences?â
âI donât know.â Wang Mu shook his head. âThe princess of Great Xia is his personal guard. Do you think this method of pleasing him will work? Would he lack anything?â
Xu Shi sighed and shook his head.
Back in Great Qinâs capital, he had tried to recruit Zhou Shu.
But he didnât seem to lack wealth or women.
Xu Shi didnât know what he could use to move Zhou Shuâs heart.
âLord Xu, can you really not master the Iron Smelting Hands Technique yourself?â Wang Mu asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âI canât.â Xu Shi shook his head. âThereâs really no other way. We can onlyâ¦â
A fierce look flashed across Xu Shiâs eyes.
âGreat Qin is facing internal and external problems now. Itâs not appropriate to fall out with Great Xia.â
Xu Shi said coldly, âBut now, the Great Xia diplomatic mission has already entered Great Liang. If anything happens to them, it will have nothing to do with our Great Qin.â
Wang Mu frowned. âIs that really the case?â
âIf we donât have the Iron Smelting Hands Technique, it will take at most three months for something big to happen to the imperial cauldron. If we have the Iron Smelting Hands Technique, Iâm confident that we can extend this time by a year and a half,â Xu Shi said solemnly. Wang Mu sighed. He had a good impression of Zhou Shu.
But for the sake of Great Qin, that was the only way.
âYou Marquis, leave immediately after nightfall with Her Highness and Lu Wenshuang. Donât alarm anyone,â Meng Bai said with a grave expression. âI will create the illusion that you are still with the diplomatic mission.â
âGrand General, is that necessary? Weâve already left Great Qin,â Zhou Shu said.
âYouâre too young to understand Great Qin.â Meng Bai shook his head. âAccording to Great Qinâs style, it should have been impossible for us to leave Great Qin so smoothly.
âBut we left so smoothly! This can only mean that something happened to Great Qin! And it isnât a small matter.â
âIsnât that perfect? If something happens to them internally, they wonât have the energy to care about us.â Zhou Shu asked.
âOn the contrary!â Meng Bai said in a low voice. âYou can tell that they are determined to obtain your Iron Smelting Hands Techniques. This means that your Iron Smelting Hands Technique might be able to help them solve some problems.
âUnder such circumstances, why do you think Great Qin could hold back from directly using their soldiers?â
In his previous life, Zhou Shu had only been an ordinary worker. Although he had some ability in this life, to be honest, he was not good at scheming.
Who said that every transmigrator was good at political strategy? Ordinary people knew nothing at all.
Wasnât it ridiculous for an ordinary person to become a scheming official after transmigrating back to ancient times?
Seeing Zhou Shu shake his head, Meng Bai continued to explain, âThis means that they are in great trouble and donât want to fall out with our Great Xia.
âLetâs assume that Great Qin encountered some problems internally. Now that they are sending troops to Great Wei, under such circumstances, if Great Xia sends troops to them, wouldnât it be a calamity for Great Qin?â
Although there was a nominal alliance of the ten nations, and they could not invade each other, there had been no lack of disputes between the nations over the years.
âGreat General, are you saying that Great Qin doesnât want to fall out with our Great Xia? So although they want my Iron Smelting Hands Technique, they havenât used their army to destroy our Great Xia diplomatic mission and have only been thinking of ways to trade?â Zhou Shu said.
âProblems that can be solved with money are not problems,â Meng Bai said. âIf they had successfully cultivated the Iron Smelting Hands Technique, Great Qin wouldnât have made things difficult for us now.
âButâ¦â Meng Bai glanced at Zhou Shu. âYour Iron Smelting Hands Technique doesnât seem to be that easy to cultivate. As such, you yourself have become their target!
âTheyâre unwilling to fall out with Great Xia, so they never really attacked in Great Qin.
âBut now that weâve already left Great Qin, if anything happens again, it will have nothing to do with Great Qin!
âIf I were the Qin emperor, I would definitely send someone to kidnap you in Great Liang and destroy the Great Xia diplomatic mission.
âIn that case, Great Xia and Great Liang will probably be entangled. At that time, the gazes of the various nations will not be on Great
Qin.â
Meng Baiâs explanation sent a chill down Zhou Shuâs spine.
What are these people thinking all day?
It seems Iâm still too naive.
âIf thatâs the case, what will you do if I leave?â Zhou Shu frowned. Should I teach Great Qin a painful lesson?
âHmph, I, Meng Bai, have been on the battlefield for decades. Iâm not a pushover.â Meng Bai snorted. âWeâll have to see if they have the ability to destroy the Great Xia diplomatic mission!
âWith you around, Great General, and two thousand guards, even if Great Qin makes a move, weâre still in Great Liang. Can they send out tens of thousands of troops?â Zhou Shu asked. âItâs not like we donât have the ability to fight. What does it matter if I leave or not?â
âNo one can say for sure who will lose on the battlefield.â Meng Bai shook his head.
âYouâre a Forging Master. Killing enemies is not something you should do. Itâs not worth staying here and taking risks.
âIf you have an accident here, then even if we can avenge you later, whatâs the point?
âDonât worry about the diplomatic mission. Iâll do my best to protect them,â Meng Bai said in a deep voice. âBesides, if we lose and youâre not here, Great Qin will have no reason to kill us. This will be a good thing for you and the rest of the diplomatic mission.â
Zhou Shu frowned, wondering if he should tell Meng Bai about his true strength.
Suddenly, a wolfâs howl sounded in the distance.
Meng Baiâs expression changed.
âItâs too late,â Meng Bai said grimly. âTheyâre coming.â
Zhou Shu looked in the direction of the howl.
âWho are they?â
His gaze pierced through the night. Zhou Shu seemed to see black shadows speeding over from the distant forest. âGreat Qin, Tiger Leopard Wolf Cavalry!â