Chapter 208 - 127: The Sword-Wielder (3)
A thought suddenly struck him. Since this person held a Sword-Bearer’s Token, his status was clearly extraordinary, which meant he could help resolve the matter with Ding Feng.
It would save him from making another trip.
"..."
After a long silence, the person in the sedan chair finally spoke in a leisurely tone:
"I’m not in the business of taking just anyone...
"He is of no great use to me. You can just chop off his head and hand it to the Government Office.
"Young Hero Jiang, we shall meet again."
After he finished speaking, the sedan chair was lifted leisurely, turned around, and proceeded toward the end of the street.
As for Shi Pingzhang, it seemed his acupoints had been sealed. He was plastered to the underside of the sedan chair, as if glued there, and was carried away with it.
Jiang Ran glanced at Su Wanyi. She had already returned the Token.
As everyone looked at each other in confusion, Ye Jingshuang broke the silence:
"Who... who in the world was that?
"And what use could he possibly have for Shi Pingzhang?"
Jiang Ran lightly tapped his finger and glanced at her.
"Think about it yourself for a moment. I’ll give you a hint...
"Is Shi Pingzhang the type of person to take orders from others?"
"No!"
Everyone spoke at once.
Jiang Ran spread his hands. "There you have it."
The group exchanged glances. A look of realization slowly dawned on Ye Jingshuang’s face, while Ruan Yuqing and Su Wanyi each seemed lost in thought. Gu Huai’kong, for his part, sighed.
"If that’s the case, I’m afraid that man’s status is incalculably high!"
Jiang Ran nodded.
"He can get his hands on a Token from the Dao Yi Sect, and he has those four bearers at his side for protection.
"And yet, he’s unable to reveal his own identity...
"He’s already revealed quite a lot.
"But let’s not discuss this any further. A single slip-up could have serious consequences."
Ye Jingshuang and the others all nodded in agreement.
Only Huang Xuan and Ling Buyi were left looking from one person to another, finally stamping their feet in frustration.
"Are you all... just ignoring us?
"What are you even talking about?"
Ling Buyi’s brow was also tightly furrowed.
"Why are we the only ones being left out?"
"We’re not."
Gu Huai’kong gave the two of them an odd look.
"Young Hero Jiang wasn’t whispering to us...
"You heard everything he said, didn’t you?"
"But... Junior Martial Uncle Gu, what does it all mean?"
Huang Xuan scratched his head.
"Shi Pingzhang won’t take orders from anyone, so... the person in the sedan chair went to all that trouble for nothing?"
"Of course not... He won’t take orders, but he has his own goals,"
Gu Huai’kong said.
"And the man in the sedan chair wants to accomplish the same thing.
"They can reach an agreement on that basis, so Shi Pingzhang naturally doesn’t need to take orders from him."
Huang Xuan and Ling Buyi were both stunned.
They recalled Shi Pingzhang’s words from earlier. His target had never been the Five Great Sword Sects, nor the Dao Yi Sect.
It was the number one expert in the Li Country... Jade Building!
’If the man in the sedan also wanted to deal with Jade Building, or perhaps even the Li Country itself...’
’...then it was only natural for them to reach an agreement.’
’However, if that really was his goal, then his own standing and status absolutely could not be underestimated.’
’Combined with the two points Jiang Ran had just made...’
Huang Xuan and Ling Buyi exchanged a look, both sucking in a sharp breath of cold air.
But no one said another word on the matter.
The affair with Shi Pingzhang was thus settled for the time being. Jiang Ran then called over the members of the Five Great Sword Sects to move all the gold, silver, and jewels out of the secret chamber.
Later, they would find a place to convert it all into silver notes for easier transport.
Besides, a portion of this was meant for Liu Wenshan.
He was currently establishing himself in Cangzhou Prefecture and had many expenses.
They could entrust someone to deliver a portion of the gold, silver, and jewels, along with some silver notes, to give him a financial foundation so he wouldn’t have to worry.
The disciples of the Five Great Sword Sects had never dreamed they would spend the first half of the night slaying a great evil and the second half moving treasure.
But they went about the work quite cheerfully.
This was especially true when they recalled what Jiang Ran had said to the man in the sedan: if even one person present today fell at Shi Pingzhang’s hands, he would flatten the Dao Yi Sect itself if he had to, just to find that man and demand justice.
It didn’t matter if those were just pretty words or if he meant them sincerely.
It made the disciples of the five sects’ opinion of him soar.
Jiang Ran had already saved their lives back at Red Maple Manor.
After tonight’s events, the more they saw of Jiang Ran, the more they liked him.
Li Tianxin watched with a cool detachment, knowing that Jiang Ran had truly made many friends this night.
By the time the group returned to Red Maple Manor, it was already the Hour of the Ox.
Dawn was still a long way off. After setting down the treasures, they all went their separate ways to rest.
Jiang Ran, however, found it impossible to get a good night’s sleep.
Besides him, Ye Jingshuang, Li Tianxin, and Luo Qingyi were also in the room.
Li Tianxin, however, had shooed Zhang Zhihua out.
The group sat around a table, staring at an ancient qin and then at one another.
"This is the Jiaowei?"
Li Tianxin looked at Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran nodded slightly.
On the surface, there was nothing remarkable about the qin.
It had seven strings and a purplish-black body engraved with a phoenix tail motif. It was beautiful, but that was all.
Jiang Ran fell into a brief contemplation, then picked up the qin. His fingers began to trace over its body, inch by inch.
Li Tianxin and the others knew he was searching for a mechanism within the qin’s body, so they didn’t disturb him, waiting quietly.
Jiang Ran’s brow, however, was tightly furrowed. He traced its surface again and again, and finally, his brow creased.
"Here it is!"
He pointed to one side of the qin and tapped it lightly.
"In here... there’s a hidden mechanism. It’s hollow inside."
"For real?"
Li Tianxin tilted her head and stared at it for a long moment. The spot Jiang Ran indicated was perfectly seamless, without the slightest trace of a join. She felt like he was just bluffing.
"If Brother Jiang says so, it must be true."
Ye Jingshuang’s expression was grave.
"But how do we open it?"
If they couldn’t uncover the secret hidden within the qin, they wouldn’t dare use it rashly, even though they possessed it.
The slightest misstep could result in being harmed by the qin’s own music.
"Well... I’m afraid that will require more research."
Jiang Ran sighed. Although his Hands of Celestial Craftsmanship allowed him to locate the crux of such mechanisms...
...he was a complete novice when it came to the Mechanical Technique itself.
The Jiaowei was a masterpiece from Wind and Fire Mountain, ranked among the Twelve Celestial Artificers.
It was by no means something that could be opened simply by virtue of having the Hands of Celestial Craftsmanship.