across the Quartet

Horizontal Chapter Four

Han Wangan suddenly woke up from the nightmare.

He had just dreamed that the glorious palace in South Korea was engulfed by a fire, and there were burning ruins and dead palace people everywhere... He dreamed that he was stripped of his brocade robe and crown, and was stuffed into a prison cart for transporting livestock, Whipped and humiliated like a slave.

He swallowed, a thin layer of cold sweat seeped from his forehead—but the silk brocade was still on his body, and the black jade crown was firmly on his head.The soft couch underneath is soft and comfortable.A maid in a silky gauze was gently wiping his sweat with a silk scarf.

This is the garden behind the Korean palace, surrounded by beautiful scenery of blooming flowers and green willows.Ten days ago, an astonishing tragedy happened in the Imperial Temple of South Korea. Several elders and important ministers died on the spot, and Wei Zhuang, the commander of the Imperial Guard, was seriously injured; the reason and the culprit were still unknown.King Han was worried and bored, so he went to the garden to relax after the court meeting.

Originally, there were only birds chirping in the garden, and it was extremely quiet, so Han Wang had fallen asleep unknowingly before.What woke him up was a burst of loud human voices, which seemed to be accompanied by the crisp sound of weapons hitting.

Han An snatched the silk scarf, wiped his face, and looked towards the place where the sound came from.A servant ran over panting, paused and said, "My lord, His Highness Cheng and His Highness Hong Lian... are fighting."

Han An was stunned.This son Cheng and Princess Honglian are his beloved son and daughter respectively, and they are the most noble people in the Korean palace; when these two fight, the servants of course dare not intervene to stop them.He had no choice but to let people lift the chariot and go to watch the battle in person.

It turns out that the Qin State has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers on the border of Nanyang County recently, and it seems that there is a tendency to attack South Korea at any time.South Korea's monarchs and ministers are in panic, but they have no countermeasures; Hengyang Jungongzi Cheng advises that South Korea might as well follow the example of Goujian, the king of Yue, to show weakness to foreign enemies, and then send some peerless beauties to the king of Qin, so as to disturb his ambition and buy time for South Korea.There are more than a dozen princesses in the Korean clan, among them Qingshuang and Honglian are the most beautiful, so they are naturally excellent candidates for marriage.

This is not a solution. At first glance, it seems that there is no problem. However, it is needless to say that the king of Qin is so aspiring to the world, how can he be so easily seduced by beauty; just talking about these two princesses, they are definitely not simple roles at the mercy of others.The mother of Princess Qingshuang is the most beloved beauty in the world. After crying in front of the King of Han, she betrothed her daughter to the son of a senior minister of South Korea.And the mother of His Royal Highness Honglian is a descendant of the Sanmiao people. She is not only unparalleled in beauty, but also has supernatural powers. Even the master of the harem is afraid of her.Honglian is also like her mother, with a demure appearance and fiery temper. She didn't like literary girls since she was a child. Instead, she learned a lot of self-defense skills from court martial artists.

Although Hong Lian was born as a daughter, she is extremely talented, extremely ambitious, and has insight into the general situation of the world.Hearing the discussion at the court meeting earlier, he was immediately furious, regardless of the difference between seniority and inferiority, and asked his brother face to face in the back garden: "Have all the counselors in South Korea died? How could such absurd things happen?" Strategies? They don’t give Qin a city, they send grain, grass, money and silk, and the late king even sent a peerless water engineer—have you ever thought about what to do when South Korea finally has nothing to send?”

Mr. Hengyang was very unhappy when he was asked, and said with a sneer, "Your sister is so loud. Since our ideas are all ridiculous, you must have a good plan in mind to defeat the enemy?"

"I don't dare to make a good strategy. Honglian only knows that the two countries are fighting each other, and they don't dare to split up in front of the battle. They only know how to flatter and seek peace. What a humiliation! Don't we have a bloody man in Korea?!"

"Lianmei said it easily. Anyway, only men bleed to death on the battlefield, and women only need to stay far away in the palace; even if they are defeated, they can only marry him as a king... Hey, why am I not a woman?" Yang Jun sneered at first, but then there was a bit of envy in his eyes.

"I only hate that I am not a man! Even if Honglian is a daughter, she is willing to give up her life to go to the country together, which is better than a group of cowards!" Honglian scolded angrily.

The two quarreled more and more, and finally they both drew their weapons. Gongzicheng's sword is a treasure passed down from generation to generation in the Korean royal family. It is said to be the famous sword "Chengying" smelted by Ou Yezi, while Honglian used a sword Soft and sharp long whips; both of them have been taught by famous teachers, but seeing the light of the sword, the heavy shadows of the whips, and the killing power brought by the weapons, it is bitingly cold, and no one else dares to approach easily.

Han Wangan stomped his feet anxiously dozens of steps away. "Nonsense, really nonsense. Who is going to separate the two of them—" However, everyone knows how dangerous it is to intervene in a fight between two masters at will; when it comes to life and death, the deadly trick can no longer be completely controlled by the master, and once it is released, it is difficult. Take it back freely, and any third party involved may be injured by the moves of both parties.Who would be willing to follow this kind of king's order that would send people to death casually without any real reward?

When King Han saw that all the guards were hesitating, he was very anxious. Fortunately, a deep voice came in at this time, "Your Majesty ordered you to separate the two Highnesses, why don't you do it?"

The guards hurriedly turned their heads, and saw a tall man standing behind the King of Han, with a shawl and a crane cloak hanging down, his eyebrows like sharp swords raised slightly, and many people shuddered.

King Han was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked, "Zhuanger, your injury...has healed?"

"It has been cured. Please take care of your majesty." The commander of the imperial guard bowed deeply, and lightly stamped his feet——in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from everyone's eyes and jumped into the middle of the two fiercely fighting.For a moment, it seemed that countless cold lights and whip shadows were scrambling to greet him; Han Wang couldn't see the movements of the three of them clearly at all, he only felt that his old eyes were dim, but his heart felt like a big stone fell to the ground, and he was extremely at ease.

This young, promising and resourceful nephew subtly gave Han An a strange and reliable feeling in just half a year of getting along; it seems that no matter how difficult the task is, as long as he is willing to do it, it doesn't matter. .

Hong Lian was performing a style of "Nine Songs of the Great River" to forcefully attack her opponent, when she suddenly saw a black shadow descending from the sky. She was obviously tall, but her movements were as elegant and graceful as a butterfly wearing flowers. , then there were two vigor "hea", "hea" knocked on her whip, and the long whip that was curled up and sweeping the ground suddenly collapsed straight like a flagpole - what a domineering internal force this is!She was so shocked by this force that she almost let go of the whip, but at the same time there was a "clang" sound in her ear - it turned out that the long whip straightened and the end of the braid pierced it at a tricky angle. Young Master Cheng's wrist forced him to let go of his long sword; at first glance, it looked like Honglian knocked down his weapon with a whip.

"You are—" Honglian exclaimed in shock, but before she finished her words, the Yingying Sword that had just landed bounced up for some reason, was firmly held by the man in black, and handed it to the empty door in front of her carelessly; Lian didn't dare to be negligent, she backed up again and again, her arms flexed her strength, and the black long whip quickly wrapped around the sword like a poisonous snake - this is a subtle way of using softness to overcome rigidity, and many sword masters are afraid of being so restrained by the soft whip.

The man in black had a smile on his face, it seemed that Honglian's move was exactly what he wanted, or maybe he used the sword to seduce Honglian. The whip yanked past—she instinctively felt the danger ahead, so she had to abandon the whip hastily, but saw the sword and the whip being thrown into the air at the same time, as if being taken away by an invisible hand.

Young Master Cheng's whole arm was numb, and he watched dumbfoundedly as the sword landed, flew up, fell again, and then was presented with both hands by an acquaintance with all manners of courtesy, "Your Highness's noble body, you must not take risks like this."

The man in black returned the Chengying sword, treated the whip with the same respect, held it in front of the princess, and said, "Your Highness, Your Majesty misses you very much."

Honglian said nothing.She recognized this person as Wei Zhuang, the most popular guard commander in South Korea. Not only did his father trust him very much, but many civil and military ministers in the court were also his henchmen. how much.He defeated Mr. Cheng's sword with his long whip, and his own whip with Mr. Cheng's sword. This is clearly a silent irony—the swordsmanship and whip technique of the two are better than martial arts. What's the difference?

She lowered her eyes, even though her father scolded both brother and sister, there was a huge wave of unwillingness to admit defeat in her chest.

Later that day, King Han returned to his bedroom to rest—he was actually not very old, but he was often tired recently—Jun Hengyang and his entourage also left, leaving only a few servants cleaning the garden falling flowers.

Hong Lian blocked Wei Zhuang who was about to leave under a dry willow, and proposed to try again.

"Your Highness's noble body, how can you have the same knowledge as a martial artist like Wei Zhuang?" Wei Zhuang politely refused.But Guren hated his smiling eyes—they were so gray and blue, and he didn't even bother to hide the disdain in his eyes.

"I know you are the number one master in Korea. But that time earlier, you didn't even draw a sword. Didn't you look down on me too much?" Honglian is also willing to learn from Your Excellency."

"Don't dare, how honorable is the status of a princess—"

"You don't have to talk to me. Draw your sword." Angry in her heart, Hong Lian reached out to snatch the long sword from Wei Zhuang's waist.She was so angry that she was not only angry at the earlier revenge for grabbing the whip, but also a kind of indignation mixed with contempt and humiliation-you men are obviously not weak, but you only know how to come up with that kind of dirty beauty trick, dare not Face the Qin State head-on!

She thought that Wei Zhuang might be pretending to dodge again, so she made a decisive move with the aura of a life-threatening fight - she never thought that Wei Zhuang didn't retreat or dodge at all, but grabbed her wrist sleeve.

"Your Highness, this sword cannot be touched."

Guren was startled, and it was too late to pull her hand; her arm seemed to be bound by steel shackles, unable to move an inch.She raised her head and looked at Wei Zhuang; at that moment, the moonlight was just blooming, and the bunches sprinkled on the man's face, it seemed that the corners of the frivolous lips seemed to have deep meaning.For the first time, Honglian felt a icy fear of this life in her heart.

Wei Zhuang sighed softly: "This is a demon sword."

Ten days ago.Korean temple.

Three sacrificial animals were placed in front of Zhaohou's spiritual tablet.Han Fei in plain clothes, plain clothes, and plain crown held the sacrificial wine and muttered silent blessings in his mouth; after reading the lengthy sacrificial oration, he poured the wine on the ground.Wei Zhuang was still wearing the black clothes he was used to, took over the wine bar from his uncle, and paid homage in the same way.Standing behind the two of them, Zhang Liang wondered inwardly: Wei Zhuang could not have imagined that Wei Zhuang would have a way to invite this eccentric clan prince who had been closed for many years out of the mountain, and even agreed to his idea of ​​establishing "Quick Sand".

In fact, Young Master Fei himself is also very annoyed. He clearly refuted Wei Zhuang's suggestion to nothing, but he was moved by a mere story of a "giant python swallowing a deer". Knowing that the hope is slim, he decided to give it a try...

I don't know how much power is left in South Korea, allowing them to reform themselves again?

"Uncle Fei, the Prime Minister Han Xi has been in poor health recently, and seems to be retiring; the Xia family has been removed, as long as Duan and Chen do not object, my king will definitely invite Uncle Fei to lead the military administration. I hope uncle will not refuse at that time. .”

"Duan and Cheng don't object? It's ridiculous." Han Fei's face turned cold, and he stared at Wei Zhuang and said, "...Could it be that the kid used some unscrupulous means?"

Wei Zhuang said to him solemnly, "Uncle Fei once said, 'Sages don't expect to repair the ancients, and lawlessness is always possible. When discussing the affairs of the world, they are prepared for it." It's just a matter."

"...Talking." Han Fei didn't bother to argue with him, but acquiesced in his heart.Zhang Liang hurriedly smoothed things over and said: "Our country has a legalist genius like Young Master, and a man of integrity like Brother Wei. If we add one or two generals and Sima who are well-versed in military tactics, we will definitely thrive again."

Wei Zhuang said with a smile: "You think you order dishes with meat and vegetables, don't you?"

Zhang Liang rolled his eyes at him, "Brother Wei means, of course, you have the talents of military, law, and vertical and horizontal, and you can be the mainstay and turn the world around..."

"Don't dare, Wei Zhuang is just a man with great ambition and few talents; but if he can pave the way for Uncle Fei to reform, the chastity will not lose points, and the treacherous will not be lucky, then this life will have no regrets."

Han Fei watched the two juniors quarreling with each other, their words were fierce, but they were all passionate, willing to sacrifice their lives for the fate of the country; his chest could not help but feel a little hot, as if something that had been dead for a long time had woken up again.

At this moment, Wei Zhuang suddenly raised his hand to press on the hilt of the sword, and shouted violently: "Get out!"

The other two were startled.However, at the same time, a person really fell out from behind the curtain; judging from his clothes, he should be a small official in charge of ritual utensils in the Taimiao.This person almost rolled and knelt down in front of Wei Zhuang, saying that he would spare his life.

On the contrary, Wei Zhuang smiled kindly and said, "You just passed by here by chance, so what's wrong with you?"

"Little man...Little man..." The man stammered for a while, then suddenly raised his head as if making up his mind, and wiped away the look of shrinking from his face, "The little man came here specially to see Mr. Wei Zhuang. "

"Oh?"

"Little man, I want to present a treasure to my lord... Although it is a treasure, it is very dangerous... But it is indeed a treasure..."

Wei Zhuang narrowed his eyes, and finally became interested, "What is it?"

"A sword. It's a... demon sword."

Wei Zhuang and Han Fei looked at each other, and then turned to look at Zhang Liang. The eyes of all three were equally puzzled. "Be careful..." Zhang Liang always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't explain why, but Wei Zhuang had already made up his mind to listen to this person.The sword was exactly what he was longing for right now.

It turned out that not long ago, when a Qin envoy had an audience with the King of Han, he accidentally recognized that the bodyguard Wei Zhuang was wearing a Qin sword.Wei Zhuang firmly insisted that the sword was a gift from a friend. Although the Qin envoy was not suspected at that time, fearing that there would be troubles in the future, he had to seal up the sword for use.Although the sword he is using now is also a good sword rewarded by the King of Han, but compared to Chengying from Lord Hengyang, it is naturally just a piece of ordinary iron.With Wei Zhuang's spirit, where could he tolerate this, he ordered his subordinates to look for the real magic weapon for him.

The little official knelt on the ground, stammered, but told a secret story vividly.

"More than 70 years ago, King Wulie of Qin seized Yiyang and Wusui of our country, and the world-renowned Yiyang Iron Mountain fell into the hands of Qin; a craftsman unearthed a natural iron tire from the iron mountain and dedicated it to King Wu King Wu was overjoyed, so he invited Ou Yezi's successor Xu to forge a unique sword for himself. However, no matter how hard Xu's craftsmen tried, the iron tire could not be formed; King Wu was furious and ordered It reminds me of a cruel and terrifying way of making swords in ancient legends."

"The stove for living sacrifices?" Wei Zhuang asked.

"Exactly. I heard that King Wu chose dozens of boys and girls as sacrifices, but even so, the sword was still not made. Not long after, King Wu died holding a tripod, King Zhaoxiang ascended the throne, and the Queen Mother took power; The casting of this sword was interrupted. There is a strange rumor in the world, saying that King Wu is not unable to lift the Yongzhou tripod, but saw the souls of those children who sacrificed the sword when he was holding the tripod..."

Han Fei listened expressionlessly, while Zhang Liang lowered his head and smiled.

"Until King Zhaoxiang's later years, one of Xu's descendants came out with a particularly superb skill. With a fanatical heart for making swords, he was determined to complete the feat that his ancestors could not accomplish. This person offered himself to the King of Qin and wanted to make The unforged sword was produced; the king of Qin liked it, so he reopened the sword house that was sealed up in the past. From then on, this swordsmith often ran around the sword house day and night, talking inconsequentially, describing crazy, even he None of his relatives dared to talk to him. One day ten years later, the swordsmith suddenly yelled, threw a newborn baby into a red-hot furnace, and then jumped into it himself. It is said that the celestial phenomenon at that moment Mutations, dark clouds covering the sun, ghosts and gods howling... A bold disciple poured the molten iron in the sword furnace into the pottery model that the swordsmith had already made, but found that the formed sword embryo showed a very strange shape—— Throughout the ages, there has never been a sword in that shape. But because it is the legacy of the master swordsmith who died in the furnace, the disciples still scraped and polished the sword, sharpened it, and finally presented it to the King of Qin. Because this sword Because of its strange shape, Xu's successors named it 'Shark Teeth'.

King Zhaoxiang loved this sword very much, but at that time there was a world-renowned sword master who exclaimed as a monster when he saw the sword, and tried his best to persuade King Qin not to wear it himself.The king of Qin did not listen to him.In less than a year, King Zhaoxiang fell ill and died.King Huanhui lamented for the spirit of King Qin with the etiquette of a courtier, and King Xiaowen, who ascended the throne, presented the sword to the former king. "

"It sounds like it has malicious intentions..." Zhang Liang sighed softly.He turned his head to look at Wei Zhuang, but found that the interest in this man's eyes was getting stronger and stronger.

"The former king got the shark tooth, but he didn't dare to use it himself, so he gave it to a young man who was good at martial arts. The young man was ecstatic when he got the famous sword, and his behavior became more and more different from ordinary people; I heard that shark teeth are good at drinking human blood. Once out of the sheath, you can't return it to the sheath if you can't drink enough blood. After a while, the young man killed nothing and died in a different place. From then on, no one in the world dared to use shark teeth. The first king died, the prince I dare not be buried with an unknown sword, so I enshrined this sword in a secret place in the Taimiao. The villain has been ordered to guard this sword for more than five years."

Wei Zhuang fixedly looked at him, and said, "What is your purpose in dedicating this 'demon sword' to me?"

The little official seemed to be trembling, but he replied very firmly: "Everything in the world has its time. If the time doesn't come, it won't work. The villain has stayed here for several years. Last night, he suddenly heard the shark's teeth crowing at night, trembling and unable to sleep …Today, after peeking at the appearance of the lord in the dark, I realized that this is a sign of the sword’s recognition of its master!”

"...Interesting, lead the way."

Han Fei frowned slightly, but said nothing.On the contrary, Zhang Liang approached Wei Zhuang and said in a low voice, "It can't be a trap..."

"What about the trap." Wei Zhuang raised his eyebrows and said, "The Demon Sword Shark Teeth...it's really interesting."

The three of them followed the little official into the depths of the Taimiao, surrounded by dense ancient cypresses, there was a very small temple with no doors or windows, and it seemed to be sealed on all sides.However, the little official knocked lightly on an earthen wall, and a secret door burst open—I saw a clay altar in the room, and there was no sacrifice on the altar, but a strange sword was inserted.

That sword is indeed in a strange shape.It only has a blade on one side, and the other side has ups and downs like the teeth of a shark; the blade is clearly blue, but it always feels scarlet.

Looking at it, Wei Zhuang felt his heart skip a beat for some reason, and how vertical and horizontal swordsmanship complemented this strange sword constantly emerged in his mind to form a unique move... As he was thinking, he strode forward, holding Can't help but put it on the hilt of the sword.

Just when his eyes were completely drawn away by the demon sword, the little official behind him suddenly pulled out a sharp dagger from his arms, and inserted it into his vest as fast as lightning.