#248 - Unexpected gains
When Wei Changtian learned from Wei Yanyu that the traitor was actually Xu Chengwen, half an hour had passed since the imperial court had withdrawn its troops.
Wei Changtian didn't know how to comfort Wei Yanyu, and he didn't intend to comfort her at all.
Accept fate?
Good riddance?
Young Master Xu also had his own difficulties?
None of them seemed appropriate.
“Madam Wei, now you know whether what I said before was true or false.”
After a moment of silence, Wei Changtian directly cut to the chase: “Then, shouldn't the things that Madam promised also be fulfilled?”
“That's natural.”
Wei Yanyu nodded. Her left arm, which had been burned by the fire, had already been bandaged, and it was estimated that there would be no major problems.
“Within ten days, the evidence of the Liu family 'colluding in rebellion' will be sent to Ning Yongnian. As for whether Ning Yongnian believes it or not... that depends on your ability, Young Master.”
“And this saber.”
As she spoke, Wei Yanyu beckoned to someone behind her, and immediately someone handed over a saber box.
Three long sabers were inserted in the saber box, all with only the hilts exposed.
Wei Changtian's eyes lit up, and he took the saber box from Wei Yanyu.
“Madam, thank you.”
“Young Master, you don't need to thank me.”
Wei Yanyu shook her head, her tone calm: “My Xu family has been in business for hundreds of years, and we understand the principle of keeping our word the most.”
“Good.”
Wei Changtian didn't draw his saber, nor did he continue to be polite. He just gently placed the saber box aside.
“Madam, now that the imperial court has temporarily withdrawn its troops, we will also return to Shu Prefecture tomorrow.”
“It is my honor to have met Madam this time. I hope that there will be an opportunity to see Madam again in the future.”
“...”
See you again in the future.
This sentence can be understood as wishing the Xu family to defeat the imperial court as soon as possible, or it can be understood as the Wei family still leaving a way out for the Xu family—
If you really can't win, you can still escape to Shu Prefecture.
“Thank you for your kind words, Young Master. I don't deserve it.”
After a polite exchange, Wei Yanyu paused, and then looked at Wei Changtian seriously and said:
“Young Master Wei, please forgive me for speaking rashly.”
“Now that my Xu family has become rebels, if the Liu family falls again, then under the Ning surname, there will only be one Wei left.”
“Ning Yongnian is now burdened by the situation in the Northwest, and he really can't spare too much energy to take care of it.”
“But what about the future?”
“I'm afraid that sooner or later, the imperial court will take action against the Wei family.”
“So... doesn't Young Master really consider taking this opportunity to strike first?”
“If our two families join forces, even if we can't enter the capital and become emperor, we can at least occupy half of Da Ning's territory. When that time comes...”
“Madam.”
Suddenly, Wei Changtian interrupted: “There's no need to say any more.”
“...”
Wei Yanyu was stunned for a moment, then shook her head with a wry smile: “Forget it, I won't persuade you anymore. I just hope that Young Master will consider it carefully.”
“Yes, I will.”
Wei Changtian gave a perfunctory reply, picked up the saber box, and stood up.
“Madam, I believe you still have many things to take care of, so I won't disturb you any further.”
“Farewell.”
“Okay.”
Wei Yanyu followed suit, bowing slightly.
“Young Master Wei, farewell.”
“...”
After a brief farewell, Wei Changtian turned and walked out of the tea room, leaving Xu Mansion with Qin Zhengqiu, who was waiting outside the door, and returning to Ruyi Inn by carriage.
Well... at least that was his subjective will.
As for whether fate in the dark would involve him in this vortex again, that was another matter and a story for later.
Anyway, so far, the purpose of this trip to Ji Prefecture has been achieved.
And there were also unexpected gains.
“Clang!”
Wei Changtian casually drew a long saber from the saber box, tapped the blue-glowing blade with his finger, and nodded in satisfaction.
He didn't know if these three sabers were the Xu family's most valuable treasures, but in the original novel, Xiao Feng's harvest after destroying the Xu family was this.
Therefore, after Wei Changtian obtained that information and gained the initiative in the negotiation, he also added these three sabers as bargaining chips.
And this was also the first time he had obtained an In-Rank Divine Weapon besides the Xuantian Sword.
《Notes on Ancient and Modern Times·Carriages and Clothing》: Emperor Wu had three precious sabers, the first called Hundred Refinements, the second called Green Calf, and the third called Shadow Leak.
【Hundred Refinements: Saber (Profound Grade), Hundred Steel Hundred Refinements, Unbreakable and Undamaged, 200 points】
【Green Calf: Saber (Profound Grade), the force of lifting feathers is like nine oxen, 200 points】
【Shadow Leak: Saber (Profound Grade), Formless and Shadowless, Silent and Lightless, 200 points】
Wei Changtian happily looked at all three sabers and put them all into the Starry Sky Saber Sheath, with only the hilt of “Shadow Leak” exposed.
This also meant that Wei Changtian had decided to mainly use the Shadow Leak Saber in the future.
As for why...
It was very simple, because Shadow Leak was the best-looking of the three sabers.
The next day.
Wei Changtian and his party left Ji Prefecture City in the early morning.
Just as Chu Xianping had said before, although the imperial court's army was stationed a dozen miles outside the city, and there were many scouts around the city, it was still easy to leave quietly.
They walked through forests and mountains, bypassing the imperial army's not-so-tight encirclement, and arrived at Shanggu County, about several hundred miles away from Ji Prefecture City, at dusk.
They didn't stay in the county, bought three carriages, and continued on their way to Shu Prefecture via Yuan Prefecture.
Compared to the somewhat roundabout route when they came, it was estimated that they would return to Shu Prefecture City in four days.
“Da da! Da da!”
The sound of horses' hooves was rapid and clear in his ears, and the sky was completely dark.
The foothills of the wilderness were vaguely unclear, and occasional dwellings and wisps of smoke dotted the distance, like fishing fires flickering on the sea.
After running for a day, everyone was a little tired, so no one cared to appreciate this scenery. At this moment, they were all sitting and closing their eyes to rest.
And Wei Changtian finally had time to take out a wrinkled ancient book from his arms, with two small characters written on the cover that were already difficult to recognize—
Zhaori.
It was a sword technique. Agou ran over to give it to him before leaving in the morning, saying that Old Zhangtou had ordered it.
However, at that time, Wei Changtian was in a hurry to get on the road, so he just glanced at it casually. After failing to find relevant information in the system, he put it away.
After all, if the system couldn't find it, it meant that the sword technique was not in-rank, and there was no need to practice it at all.
Alas, Old Zhangtou is too weak, he doesn't have any fun things...
Sighing secretly, Wei Changtian opened the sword manual and prepared to take another look.
Anyway, he was idle, so he just treated it as a pastime.
The first page was empty, with only ten characters written from top to bottom—
Carrying a round moon on the shoulder, the body shines in all directions.
Well, it's quite artistic, but I don't know what it has to do with the word “Zhaori”.
Curling his lips, Wei Changtian was just about to continue reading the second page, but the hand that was turning the book suddenly stopped.
After being stunned for a moment, he called up the system interface with a try-it-out mentality, and then tried to search for “Picking Moon” in the sword technique column...
【Picking Moon Sword: Sword Technique (Immortal), No Description Available, Purchase Permission Not Yet Opened】
