Chapter 103: One Shouldn't Be Too Wrathful in Life

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“The entire army flies over Lingfeng Pass, ten thousand horses halt at Jianjiang Bay. On that day, across thousands of miles of Bashan, the scholar soldiers were defeated at Liangzhou Pass.”

Since his time-travel, Zhang Chi had encountered Dao Yuan of the Buddhist order and Zhan Taiqi, the head of the Tianji Sect. From these experiences, he had already concluded one thing: never underestimate monks or Taoists—it was impossible to tell who among them might be a peerless master.

Moreover, this monk seemed mad, yet the poem he recited held a certain meaning. Upon careful reflection on the latter four lines, there were three place names: Lingfeng Pass, Jianjiang Bay, and Liangzhou Pass. What connection could there be among them?

Everyone else ignored the words of the crazed monk, but Zhang Chi read the poem several times with great care, though he found nothing unusual.

After pondering a while without any breakthrough, Zhang Chi gave up delving deeper. Some things, before their time, could never be understood. He silently memorized the few lines of verse and then returned to the Prefect’s Mansion. It was already noon, and before lunch, Zhang Chi’s thoughts turned to the injuries of Dao Xuan and Dark Blade.

Among the three, Zhang Chi was the least injured, Dao Xuan was next. Dao Xuan, who practiced martial arts freely and was always robust, had excellent recovery abilities. Now, he was no longer in serious condition, but he was restless lying in bed. Zhang Chi still insisted he rest well to recover.

After checking on Dao Xuan, Zhang Chi went to Dark Blade’s room. To his surprise, the moment he opened the door, a cold gleam shot straight at him, startling him.

The cold gleam was a sword, held by none other than Dark Blade.

“Your wounds aren’t healed yet, why are you wandering around?” Zhang Chi was taken aback. A closer look revealed Dark Blade had once again covered her face with a veil.

Dark Blade had suffered the worst injuries and had only just managed to walk. This was precisely the time to rest, which was why Zhang Chi spoke as he did.

“Should’ve known I trusted you wrong—you truly are a government dog!” Dark Blade’s sword tip hovered half an inch from Zhang Chi’s throat. If she wished, she could take his life at any moment.

Zhang Chi was puzzled. “Since when did I become a government dog?”

“You still dare to deny it! If you weren’t a government dog, how come you live so lavishly in such a grand house?” Dark Blade snorted coldly. “Back at the Hanmen Branch, Brother He said you were a government lackey—I didn’t believe it then, but now it seems he was right.”

So that was it. Zhang Chi understood the cause: upon awakening and seeing himself inside the Prefect’s Mansion, Dark Blade naturally assumed Zhang Chi was a government official. Therefore, when Zhang Chi had accompanied her to the Hanmen Branch, it must have been to confirm its location for the army to come and besiege it.

Coincidentally, the imperial troops did indeed arrive after Zhang Chi reached the Hanmen Branch, and now Zhang Chi was back in the Prefect’s Mansion. No wonder Dark Blade grew suspicious.

But Zhang Chi had no words to explain. He forced a smile: “If I really were a government dog, I would have killed you already. Why would I rescue you, bring you here to recover, and let you point a sword at me?”

Zhang Chi’s reasoning was sound. In fact, Dark Blade herself felt uneasy for this very reason, which was why she hadn’t struck immediately—otherwise, Zhang Chi would have had no life left the moment he pushed open the door.

Ignoring Zhang Chi, Dark Blade coldly questioned, “Where is this place?”

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“The Prefect’s Mansion of Ba Commandery,” Zhang Chi answered truthfully.

This answer startled Dark Blade so much she trembled. She did not know the full story. Seeing Zhang Chi living in the Prefect’s Mansion and coming and going as if it were his own home, she naturally assumed this was his residence. Though she suspected Zhang Chi was a government lackey, she never imagined he was the prefect of an entire commandery.

Dark Blade’s shiver frightened Zhang Chi: “Hero, please calm down. It’s okay if your hand shakes, just don’t let the sword stray onto my throat.”

Ignoring Zhang Chi’s words, she continued coldly, “So, you are the Prefect of Ba Commandery?”

“No,” Zhang Chi replied honestly.

“Then you are the prefect’s lackey?”

“No, I am not.”

Dark Blade shouted, “Still dare to lie! If you’re neither the prefect nor his lackey, how do you live in the Prefect’s Mansion?”

Zhang Chi shrugged helplessly: “Actually, the Prefect of Ba Commandery knew I had arrived in Ba Commandery and moved out of the mansion to let me stay. I said I wouldn’t live there, but he insisted.”

Zhang Chi spoke nothing but the truth, but Dark Blade didn’t believe him: “Do you take me for a three-year-old? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll cut your head off!”

Zhang Chi’s mind flashed to a joke he once saw on the internet before traveling—a carpenter waiting for a train. He adapted it and told Dark Blade with a wry smile: “Once, a family hired a carpenter to build a house along a street. Later, the lady said every time a carriage passed, the house shook. The carpenter thought it was nonsense. The lady suggested he lie on the bed to feel it. Just as he lay down, the husband returned and angrily asked, ‘Why are you lying on my wife’s bed?’ The carpenter nervously replied, ‘I said I’m waiting for a carriage, would you believe that?’”

“Would you believe that?” Zhang Chi spread his hands. “Sometimes the truth really does sound like a lie, but I’m telling the truth.”

Even with her cold demeanor, Dark Blade couldn’t help but almost chuckle. She stifled her laughter and glared: “Enough nonsense! Even if you’re not a government dog, you’re involved with them. You’re no good!”

Knowing Dark Blade’s prejudice against officials, Zhang Chi tried to reason: “Not all officials are corrupt; there are many good ones.”

“Hmph! If there were good officials, why is no one raising troops to resist the barbarians?” Dark Blade said, “They’re all cowards afraid to die!”

Zhang Chi shook his head and sighed: “Your brothers in Hanmen Branch have passionate hearts, but before they had the chance to kill the barbarians, they were slaughtered first.”

As soon as Zhang Chi finished, Dark Blade’s anger flared. Her disdain for her Hanmen brothers was a sore spot. The sword tip pressed even closer to Zhang Chi’s throat, and he could feel the icy chill emanating from the blade.

Yet Zhang Chi said calmly, “Pitiful, truly pitiful.”

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“Who do you call pitiful?”

“Of course, I mean you.”

Dark Blade trembled with fury: “Fine, fine. I want to hear why you say I’m pitiful. Humph! If you can’t explain or are wrong, I will take your head today!”

Zhang Chi faced her unafraid, speaking with pride: “One must not be an impetuous youth. Many matters in this world cannot be resolved by mere passion alone; one must assess the times and weigh all factors. Even if your Hanmen brothers are full of zeal, how many barbarians can you kill with that zeal? Even if you killed hundreds or thousands, even if every Hanmen member were peerlessly skilled, how many of you are there? The barbarians’ forces are endless. Sooner or later, they will exhaust you. The barbarians will still conquer Shu. Aside from sacrificing yourselves, what can you achieve?”

Dark Blade did not understand “impetuous youth,” but she clearly understood everything else. Though unwilling to admit it, Zhang Chi spoke the truth. Against an overwhelming army, even the best martial skills were useless. Moreover, Hanmen’s numbers were limited; how could they resist the barbarians’ vast forces?

“So how do you assess the times and weigh all factors?” Dark Blade asked, her grip on the sword relaxing, the blade retreating from Zhang Chi’s throat.

“There is always a matter of priority,” Zhang Chi explained. “Your current method of assassinating officials is, in my view, very unwise. Now that the barbarians seek to invade Shu, we face a common enemy and should unite all possible forces—even if some are corrupt officials. Cooperation is the only way to defeat a powerful foe. If we fight among ourselves, you kill them, they besiege you, and the barbarians reap the benefits. Isn’t that exactly what the barbarians want?”

That was true, and Dark Blade lowered her head in thought. Then she said, “But those government dogs are cowards, afraid to fight the barbarians. How can we get them to raise troops?”

Zhang Chi chuckled: “So the biggest problem now is to get everyone to raise troops, not assassinate. I believe there are many in Shu who want to fight but lack the strength or courage to act alone. If we find the right opportunity and cooperate with these people, it will help. Of course, some officials are indeed corrupt, cowardly, or even seek personal gain. We can pressure them from all sides to compel them to raise troops and form a united front to defeat the Qin invaders. After beating the barbarians, we can then deal with these corrupt officials. In short, that is the strategy—assessing the times and balancing all factors.”

Following Zhang Chi’s reasoning, Dark Blade nodded repeatedly. What he said was correct and reasonable. Still, she hesitated, “Are you really sincere? Not lying to me?”

“Not a word of falsehood,” Zhang Chi answered. “In a few days, I will go to Chengdu to meet the Prince of Chengdu and persuade him to order troops to resist the barbarians. The rest will follow.”

Seeing Zhang Chi’s sincerity, Dark Blade finally lowered her sword: “Fine, I will trust you once more. But I will stay by your side at all times. From now on, you must never leave my sight. If I find you are insincere, I’ll be the first to kill you!”

“I’m a man and you’re a woman. Must I be within your sight all day? What if I need to relieve myself?” Zhang Chi teased.

“You!” Dark Blade was so angry she almost raised her sword again.

Zhang Chi quickly soothed her: “Don’t be angry. If you follow me, follow me. But first, you must heal your wounds, so you’ll have the strength to kill me someday.”