across the Quartet

Gai Nie stood there dumbfounded.

In an instant, the rhetoric about the purpose of coming, about the war, and about the overall situation of the world in my mind was forced out by many irrelevant pictures.There is a trance in front of my eyes.It was as if the wind from Ghost Valley was blowing on his face with the smell of blood.Countless unknown birds flew from the branches.The cold spring water reflects the shadow of a young man dancing with a sword.

The young man turned around, his provocative eyes fixed on him; suddenly he smiled frivolously.

He felt a dull ache from an old wound in his left chest.

This is not Ghost Valley.They are no longer teenagers.Only this gaze remains unchanged.always.

Wei Zhuang raised a hand.

"Everyone get out," he said.

The soldiers looked at each other in blank dismay, but they all exited the camp obediently.Wei Zhuang tilted his head and said again: "You go out too."

Suddenly, a black figure appeared from behind the screen, walked quickly to Wei Zhuang, and said in a low voice: "My lord, this person—"

"What's the matter, no shirt, are you worried, I can't deal with this person—" Wei Zhuang dragged his tone, and the corner of his eyes glanced at his senior brother.

Hei Ying hurriedly said: "This subordinate dare not." He also quickly retreated.

There were only two people left in the huge military tent.Gai Nie had a bellyful of words to say, and those words were rampant in his body, vying for the only way out.In the end, only this sentence came out:

"Xiao Zhuang, your hair..."

He was interrupted unceremoniously in the middle of speaking.

"It turns out that senior brother went back to Zhao country after leaving the mountain and joined the army." The elder brother was independent, smiling coldly.Not seeing each other for two years, not only did he change his appearance and clothes, but even his voice became a little lower. "I don't know if senior brother holds any position in the Zhao army?"

As expected of Xiao Zhuang, completely ignoring others and then taking the direction of the conversation into his own hands from the very beginning - this is the attitude of a political strategist.

Ge Nie hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Centurion."

This statement is not false. Although the identity of the "mountain ghost" cannot be determined, since Ge Nie took over the position of leader, he found that there are about a hundred or so people under his command, lurking in various places in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Oh? Senior brother has not been in the army for a long time, and he has already held such a high position; it seems that the monarchs and ministers of the Zhao Kingdom are really very knowledgeable."

"Well, not as good as Xiaozhuang, he is already a general..."

"I'm not praising you!"

Seeing Wei Zhuang's sudden anger, although Ge Nie was surprised, he felt a lot more relaxed than before - it seemed that the invisible barrier that had previously separated them between the brothers and sisters was suddenly broken by this familiar stern expression.

"...Brother, you are really not afraid of embarrassing the Guigu faction." Seeing his relaxed expression, Wei Zhuang became even more angry.

"I..." Gai Nie felt a pain in his heart, and said in a low voice, "Gei has been expelled from the sect since the day he violated the sect's rules and left Ghost Valley without permission."

Wei Zhuang raised his eyebrows, "So, senior brother doesn't want to be a disciple of Guigu Sect anymore."

Before he finished speaking, the shark tooth in his hand came out of its sheath, and he handed over a sword!

Gai Nie didn't expect his junior brother to make a sudden attack, and he almost didn't have time to respond in a hurry.It was just a snap of the fingers.He instinctively felt that his whole body was heavily suppressed by a chilling sword energy—as if he was suddenly driven into the deepest underground.There is no temperature.There is no sound.No breath.

True Qi surged silently.The soldiers outside still didn't realize that the big tent had become a dead place where they could not be buried even if they took half a step.

The move is obviously very familiar, but the subtlety of this sword lies in the unpredictability of the change after the strike: Gai Nie clearly knows that when he misses the initial opportunity to respond, the front, back, left, and right sides of his body, and even the upper retreat are all gone. Sealed; as long as he dodges even an inch in any direction, blood will be spattered five steps immediately.

——This is the first form of horizontal swordsmanship, which traverses all directions.

The body can't move, and it can't draw a sword to block.Could it be that he has no birth door?

Or the only door to life is in——

Gai Nie has never felt so clearly the fierce conflict and struggle between the true energy in his body and the outside world.He gritted his teeth and remained motionless.In an instant, Wei Zhuang put the sword back into its sheath, and the fierce and almost demonic sword energy disappeared as abruptly as when it came.

"Senior brother, did you realize that there is a gate of life under your feet, or have you been in a daze?"

Ge Nie turned his head and found a piece of rag lying under his right foot.

Oddly enough, his clothes remained intact in any way.It turned out that such a domineering sword cut off only a patch on the outside of his right arm.

Under that huge patch, a ferocious "ghost" character loomed in front of my eyes.

"This dress doesn't fit anymore, why do you still keep it? It's fine if you keep it, why do you want to cover it up?"

"Gai Nie, your swordsmanship and martial arts are all from the Guigu School; if you want to get rid of it completely, you should chop off your right hand with the sword, instead of doing these little tricks on your clothes."

Gai Nie suddenly raised his head and looked at Wei Zhuang.He felt something throbbing violently in his chest.The younger brother was so aggressive, but he untied a knot in his heart for many days.

After the decisive battle, Ge Nie made up his mind to leave, but after all, the sect rules were the rules handed down by the Guigu sect for hundreds of years. Nie's affection for Shimen is deeper than anyone else's. For him, leaving Guigu and cutting off the only connection is a constant torture for him.Although Wei Zhuang's original intention was not like this, his words made Gai Nie feel suddenly enlightened: Indeed, his swordsmanship, martial arts, and military strategy are all passed down from Guigu. Righteousness, these existing pasts will not be erased.What's the point of denying it?

"Xiao Zhuang, you are right."

Seeing his grateful expression, Wei Zhuang couldn't help grinding his teeth.What is the senior brother up to?

Ge Nie picked up the piece of cloth on the ground and stared at the place where the twine was cut.The same move traversed all directions, and in the decisive battle, the fierceness and fierceness of the Resentful Soul Blood Sword left an indelible impression on him.Now he suddenly realizes that Xiao Zhuang's cultivation has probably improved to a higher level than then.This kind of precise control of true energy is ten times more terrifying than strong internal strength and domineering sword moves in a real fight.

He has reached the realm of the earth that he has never reached, and even has a glimpse of the doorway of the realm of heaven.

——Could this be the reason for all the changes in him?

"Xiao Zhuang, your hair, could it be... that book of secret art..."

Wei Zhuang waved his hand impatiently again.

"Brother came all the way, just to check my hair?"

Ge Nie was a little embarrassed.He took out a roll of silk books from his pocket and handed it over: "This is a secret letter from General Sima Shang to the South Korean coach—"

Wei Zhuang chuckled lightly, and didn't intend to pick it up at all. "I don't have to read it to know what's written."

"Ok?"

"It's just that the three Jins originated from the same origin, and such infighting eventually made Qin, the tiger and wolf, reap the benefits. It's all nonsense like that."

"Since you know, why continue to fight?"

"I just obeyed the king's order and followed Qin Wei to crusade against Zhao." Wei Zhuang sat down and replied casually. "If you want to join forces, you should lobby the monarchs of our country and Wei."

"The general is out, and the king's fate is not acceptable." Gai Nie frowned and said: "In the past few days, the three countries of Korea, Wei, and Zhao have suffered heavy casualties, but the Qin army has almost no losses; if this continues, the three Jins will only go to a dead end."

"Are you teaching me to betray the Lord and act privately?"

"How can an action that is beneficial to the country be called a betrayal? Back then, Bo Zhi took Han and Wei to encircle Jinyang, which is similar to the current situation. If it hadn't been for abandoning the covenant with the Zhi family, even if the Zhao family was destroyed, Han and Wei The two ministers will inevitably be annexed by Zhi Bo one by one, so how can there be the three Jin Dynasties today."

"Senior brother, I haven't seen you for a few days, but you have become eloquent." Wei Zhuang sneered, "Do you think you are Zhang Mengtan, and Zhao Qian is Zhao Xiangzi? The Zhi family only owned half of the state of Jin, and the state of Qin What we have is half of the world. With the strength of the three Jins today, what can we use against them? Not to mention anything else, if South Korea is in danger, can Zhao Guo come to the rescue?"

"Will."

"You are only a centurion, how dare you make this decision for your monarch?" Wei Zhuang snorted out a laugh.

"Although I don't know Zhao Wang's attitude, as long as there is General Li Mu in our country, he will definitely come to rescue South Korea. Even if it is for the safety of the south of Handan, he will definitely participate in the alliance."

"Li Mu...you have a lot of confidence in him. Unfortunately, since Su Qin, how many times have the Six Kingdoms joined forces, and how many times have they succeeded? Once they fail, Qin will be the first to bear the brunt of revenge. Han and Wei. Our country has repeatedly participated in the alliance. , Losing soldiers and losing ground, swallowing his anger, but he has fallen into the fate of being restrained everywhere, like fish on the chopping board of other countries." Wei Zhuang tapped his fingers rhythmically on the hilt of his sword, "I have an uncle, what he hates most is that he can't move at all. The lobbyists who win over the monarch and join forces, saying that they are all moths of the country. They should all die."

"Combining is useless. Is it beneficial for Han and Wei to rely on Qin? Han and Wei spared no effort to attack Zhao, but will they get half an inch of land in the end? What the two countries lost were the lives of countless soldiers, as well as food and arrows. Livestock, armor—these are the most important reserves for a country's safety. If soldiers are wasted on such meaningless wars, if Qin invades Xinzheng in the future, how will South Korea resist?"

Wei Zhuang lowered his eyes dangerously. "Since South Korea is so obedient to Qin, what excuse does Qin have to attack Xinzheng?"

Gai Nie stared into the light-colored pupils of his younger brother.There is an unpredictable stormy sea hidden in it, but it is covered up with a thin layer of mockery.

Obey...obey...

No, this is not Xiaozhuang.From the very beginning, his words were not half sincere.

Ge Nie decided to take a risk.

He looked at the sawdust all over the floor, and said slowly: "No country is willing to be destroyed, because after the country is destroyed, everyone from the ministers to the people will become the slaves of other countries. But if the monarch and ministers of a country are willing to be The slaves of other countries live and die at will, so what is the difference between dying and not dying?"

Wei Zhuang stood up abruptly.In an instant, his right hand was already on Ge Nie's throat; that force could almost crush the throat bone.But at the same time, he also felt a slight numbness in his forearm, and his bent knuckles couldn't get any further.

He tilted his head slightly, and saw Gai Nie's two fingers pointing at his Quchi acupoint.

The two were in a stalemate for a moment, Wei Zhuang suddenly relaxed his fingers, and laughed out loud.With a flip of his wrist, he smoothly lifted Gai Nie's chin with the jaws of a tiger, as if examining a piece of goods in the "people's city".

"I haven't seen him for a long time, but my senior brother really impresses me; my tongue has improved a lot, and I can even use the technique of provoking generals."

Ge Nie thought to himself that I would.Obviously it was taught by a master.

Wei Zhuang has always been clear about some things.For example, Gai Nie is not actually slow.For example, scheming in the art of vertical and horizontal, marching and arranging formations, lobbying and debating, all kinds of knowledge and mastery are not inferior to him.Still, he ignored it.Firstly, Gai Nie was born with an honest look, which easily made people relax their vigilance; secondly, during the three years in Guigu, Gai Nie didn't have many opportunities to display his talents except for fighting with swords, cooking, washing clothes, sweeping dust, planting vegetables and endorsing books.It wasn't until the current situation completely opposed the two of them that Wei Zhuang could clearly see the sharpness of this person in front of him.

The war between vertical and horizontal begins with the sword, but never ends with the sword.

Gai Nie's shoulder socket gradually oozes a blush.Wei Zhuang's first surprise attack seemed ruthless, but in fact he had done precise calculations. The changes in his moves and the direction of his sword energy were all under his control; but this time, he shot with anger and showed no mercy Gai Nie raised his elbow too quickly, and forcibly concentrated his true energy on the two fingers of his left hand, causing the previous arrow wound.

Wei Zhuang obviously noticed this too.He let go of his hand, pretending to be surprised and said: "It seems that Zhao Guo's situation is not very easy; with my senior brother's ability, he would be injured like this in a dangerous situation? Could it be that the guards on the north side of the Great Wall The army can't support anymore? That's why you were forced to sneak into the enemy's camp overnight, trying to persuade the two countries to withdraw their troops?"

"On the contrary." Gai Nie lowered his left hand and stared at his junior brother's eyes; there was still a trace of killing intent in it that was too late to fade. "Our army's backup has just arrived this day, and there are enough troops in the South Great Wall. Even if it takes another year and a half, you will never even think about jumping up the city wall."

"Oh? I'm afraid it's not a bluff?"

"Whether it is a bluff or not, we will know in the next battle."

"Could it be that Senior Brother, you came here not to save the country of Zhao?"

"As long as General Li Mu can win in Fanwu, the siege on the southern front of our army will be resolved." Gai Nie said, "I came here for the consideration of South Korea and Wei. Such a heavy casualty attack and defense cannot obtain land and cities. It can weaken the power of the three Jins. If the Qin State aggressively attacks Han and Wei in the future, it will be cold, and this is what Zhao State is worried about."

Wei Zhuang clapped his palms and laughed, "Interesting, interesting; insisting that what is beneficial to oneself is beneficial to others, senior brother, you are already a qualified lobbyist."

"...Xiao Zhuang, what I say is from the bottom of my heart."

"Senior brother, I appreciate your kindness. But unfortunately, most of the princes, generals, ministers and scholars in our country don't think so; they think that as long as they serve Qin carefully, South Korea will not be in danger. If I To make a decision here without authorization is tantamount to betraying the monarch.”

"Do those Koreans really think so, or... have other plans?"

"Senior brother seems to mean something."

Gai Nie's eyes flickered, he carefully picked out his arms, and when he opened his fist again, there was a small thing lying in his palm.

Wei Zhuang's eyes suddenly froze.He wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but all the muscles in his body tensed unconsciously.

It was half a black chess piece carved from jade.