With the Blade

Chapter 289: Chapter 240: Qian Yu

"What a truly wonderful place..."

In Songzhou City, the elderly Qian Yu walked the streets with a cane. The surrounding wilderness did not make this scholarly old man uncomfortable; on the contrary, it made him feel at home.

Qian Yu, who was once the father of Qian Jin, the military governor of Yizhou, and a strategist of the former Southern Chen Prime Minister Jia Wen, like Prime Minister Jia Wen, who claimed descent from the Yu people, the elderly Qian Yu had also been practicing the sage doctrines that once allowed the Yu people to dominate the world—of course, unlike the teachings in the academies which guided people towards virtue, the sage doctrines they studied represented power, and could even kill.

Unfortunately, despite having this mysterious technique that directly struck at the heart, Qian Yu ultimately could not avenge his son. He had confronted Du Chengfeng, his son’s killer, many times but could never slay the mighty beast.

As it turned out, that monster was beyond his capabilities, not just for him, but even for his superior, Prime Minister Jia Wen, who was far mightier, and was slain on the Jinluan Hall by the same monster.

Old and new grudges compounded, making Qian Yu increasingly resentful. He initiated assassination attempts repeatedly, but all that resulted was one failure after another.

"One day, one day..."

As the assassination attempts failed time and again, the hatred buried deep in Qian Yu’s heart grew ever deeper.

Sometimes Qian Yu wondered whether it was indeed Du Chengfeng who killed his son. After all, facing such a fearsome master, even his son’s status as the military governor of Yizhou was somewhat insignificant—not to mention the intelligence that the mad monk Jing’an from the Prime Minister’s Mansion brought back, which reaffirmed his conviction.

The reason was simple: that mad monk Jing’an was nothing but a brainless fool. A simpleton who acted without thinking, how could he possibly deceive anyone on such matters?

"So I must acquire power, I must obtain enough power to kill that beast."

The elderly Qian Yu clearly realized this truth. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

This time, however, his vengeance was not limited to Du Chengfeng. At present, his enemies also included the Great Chen, who were actively hunting what was left of Jia Wen’s followers–ironically enough, despite their actions being justified. The decrepit Southern Chen had long needed reform, yet the old guard of Southern Chen chose to hunt them to the ends of the earth.

In that case, it was no fault of his own.

"Since you won’t let us live, then you shall fare no better."

The elderly Qian Yu gripped his cane tightly.

And this was why he came to Songzhou.

Though Songzhou was remote, from a geopolitical perspective it was still situated in the heartland of Southern Chen. This created a situation where Southern Chen’s pursuit was somewhat like searching in the dark. Furthermore, Songzhou had its own chaos, making it exceedingly difficult to find someone there.

The true reason that drew Qian Yu here was not merely the convenience of evading capture. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

The reason was that Songzhou revered spirits.

Historically, Songzhou had a custom of worshipping ghosts and deities—of course, this is the polite way of saying it. To put it bluntly, it was superstition. Though as part of Great Chen, Songzhou had once propagated sage doctrines, the locals paid no heed to the morally uplifting content found in books.

Compared to complex texts, Songzhou people believed in what they could see with their own eyes, such as the heart-stirring rituals and the secretive religious ceremonies... even now, Songzhou traditions include throwing people into the river to worship the River God, praying for favorable weather.

They would rather throw people into the river than listen to scholars and improve water management.

Qian Yu, who previously worked in the Prime Minister’s Mansion, had no solution to such matters. At the time, serving as a strategist in the Prime Minister’s Mansion, he could only choose to pacify, ensuring that the locals believed scholars were useful in a way they could accept—even if these foolish Songzhou people ultimately thanked the river’s Dragon King instead of the scholars who toiled over hydrology maps. At least the job got done, and so be it.

But for Qian Yu now... the hardships from his past work had become his advantage.

Indeed, Songzhou people were foolishly superstitious, to the extent that his former self as a Southern Chen official could not tolerate. Yet, now he was no longer a Southern Chen official and had even stood in opposition—so the past disadvantages naturally became opportunities.

It is precisely because of their superstition that they are easily deceived, and because they exclude outsiders, it is easier to gather strength. Perhaps past attempts to persuade Songzhou residents to build infrastructure made them see foreign scholars as liars to be expelled.

But now, with his fluent Songzhou dialect, if he invoked the name of deities, leading local Songzhou people to plunder outsiders, who wouldn’t follow him?

"Yes! Just like this! Everyone, charge!"

Ten days later, now donned in light attire, Qian Yu brandished his cane while commanding his bandit subordinates to dismantle the caravan’s last resistance.

Indeed, in less than half a month, the elderly Qian Yu had become the second-in-command of the largest bandit gang in Songzhou. To others, this might be impossible, but for Qian Yu, a former strategist, it was simpler than drinking soup.

For Qian Yu, this was only the beginning. In the following two months, he planned to train his forces and unify all of Songzhou with the help of his bandits—especially in the absence of a local military governor, whoever controlled the military force became the uncrowned king of Songzhou.

"Since you all want me dead, I will live to show you."

At this moment, Qian Yu was full of unprecedented vigor.

Who says the old can’t vie for world domination! He could! Mastering the art of manipulating hearts, he was bound to achieve this rare feat!

"Kill!"

Wielding his cane, Qian Yu was bursting with heroism, as if he could see himself commanding a mighty army.

Until another caravan appeared on the distant road.

"More people coming? Rob them!"

Full of zeal, Qian Yu waved his cane.

"Hmm? Want to rob us?"

A five-zhang-long fiery blade cleaved through the sky.