Chapter 3 Bone Gas

  Six men in red robes entered, their faces twisted with sinister intent, sizing up Qin Yi like a hunter eyeing his prey.

  "Zhao Ping." Qin Yiren recalled who these people were according to his predecessor's memories.

  These six men were the Zhao state minor officials who had been guarding Qin's envoy, and Zhao Ping was their leader.

  During the Warring States period, the theory of yin and yang and the five elements was prevalent. Zhao State considered itself to belong to the fire virtue, so all officials had to wear red clothes.

  "What are you doing here?" Qin Yiren sat up from the couch and asked Zhao Ping.

  "Tigers and wolves, people of Qin, what are we doing here? Don't you know yet?" Zhao Ping said with a strange tone, giving Qin Yi a sly smile. Then his face sank, and he shouted: "Qin Yi, you have a big dog's guts, daring to hide goods. Brothers, search for me, whoever finds it is theirs."

  The goods and wealth of Qin Yiren were sent by the State of Qin and belonged to Qin Yiren. Where does this nonsense about hiding them come from?

  These are the tricks of Zhao Ping and his gang, they are openly robbing, this kind of thing, if they don't do it ten times a day, they will do it eight times. Qin Yiren's property was looted in this way, and Zhao Ping is one of the most powerful pushers behind Qin Yiren's current predicament, second only to Prime Minister Pingyuanjun of Zhao State.

  "If you can find the treasure, I'll admit it's yours." Up to now, Qin Yiren is penniless. If there really was a treasure, would Qin Yiren starve to death? Would he quench his hunger by drinking water? Would he forget his hunger by sleeping?

  "Woof." A yellow dog as big as a calf appeared at the door, opening its large mouth and sticking out its tongue.

  "Gulp!" Qin Yiren swallowed hard.

  In Qin Yiren's eyes, who was starving with a rumbling stomach and a parched throat, this big yellow dog was just a delicious piece of dog meat. If he slaughtered it, set up a pile of firewood, and roasted it on top, that would be a culinary delight.

  "Woof." Qin Yiren, who was lost in thought, was interrupted by a dog's bark. He saw the big yellow dog dash towards him with its four legs open, its bloody mouth already wide open. If Qin Yiren were bitten, his thin body would not be able to withstand it.

  "Zhao Ping, you're so vicious! You actually dare to set a dog on me? I'll make you pay!" Qin Yiren had never been bitten by a dog in his two lifetimes, and he was furious. He wanted to dodge, but his stomach was empty and his limbs were weak, making it impossible for him to move out of the way.

  Just as the big yellow dog was about to bite Qin Yiren, Zhao Ping's face broke out in a smile, his hands clasped together in front of his chest, striking a pose as if enjoying the show: "Qin Yiren, you are a dignified prince, the first great warring state of Qin's prince, yet you can't escape the fate of being bitten by the big yellow dog. Brothers, watch the show, it's not often that we get to see a prince getting bitten by a dog!"

  "This play is going to be wonderful!" Several red-clad attendants shouted in unison, their eyes wide with excitement, staring fixedly at Qin Yiren, ready to savor the spectacle of his misfortune, which would surely be a delightful sight.

  "You dare, dead dog? I'll eat your dog meat." Qin Yiren knew he was doomed and could only be tough with his words.

  "Haha!" Zhao Ping and the others burst out laughing, as if they had heard the most hilarious joke in the world.

  "You're always thinking about eating the meat of the big yellow croaker, are you satisfied? You're just fantasizing, it's like a moon in the water or a flower in the mirror. Think slowly." Zhao Ping didn't take it seriously at all and laughed so hard that his mouth corners cracked to his ears.

  Qin Yi and others had not been short of ideas to deal with this big yellow dog, but they had never succeeded. Not only did they fail, but Meng Zhao and others were also bitten by the big yellow dog, and it was a very miserable one.

  "Bang!" Suddenly, a fist as big as a bowl came crashing down and landed squarely on the head of the big yellow dog.

  This punch was fast and ruthless and accurate, but it was powerless. The big yellow dog let out a low growl, turned its head, and bit down hard on the owner of the fist, Meng Zhao.

  "You bunch of tiger-wolf-like Qin people, how dare you oppose the great Huang? I won't forgive you!" Zhao Ping was like a fire burning his JJ, jumping three feet high and rushing towards Meng Zhao with a loud roar, like a whirlwind.

  "Tigers and wolves of Qin, accept your death!" Several red-clad minor officials charged forward like fierce tigers descending a mountain, snarling as they rushed towards Qin Yi and the others.

  Zhao Ping and the others rushed up, knocking Qin Yiren, Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong, Hei Bo, and Mo Er to the ground. They clenched their fists and heavily pounded them down, with great force and speed, beating them mercilessly.

  Even Mu Er, this woman, was not spared, what a shameless group of people.

  "You tigers and wolves of Qin, aren't you ruthless? Didn't you massacre over 200,000 Zhao soldiers at Changping? You too will have your day, when you'll be beaten like dogs by us!" Zhao Ping and the others flattered Qin Yiren on one hand, while loudly cursing them with spittle flying everywhere, as if a heavy rain was pouring down.

  Look at them, so capable and confident, as if they were galloping through the ranks of a million soldiers, invincible and unstoppable.

  However, the Qin people under them were all thin and weak like firewood, tortured by hunger to the point of having no strength at all. They sold themselves out, proving that they could only bully those who were powerless to fight back.

  "Zhao Ping, you remember this, I won't let you off!" Qin Yiren was pressed to the ground by several small officials, took a lot of punches, and his whole body hurt, but he didn't admit defeat.

  "We've been waiting." Zhao Ping heavily punched Qin Yiren's back.

  Although Qin Yiren, Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong, Hei Bo and Miao Er rose up to resist, it was all in vain. Who made them exhausted by hunger?

  "If we had food in our bellies, I reckon you wouldn't dare to be so arrogant." Meng Zhao, Ma Gai and Fan Tong were elite soldiers of the Qin army, extremely agile and quick on their feet. If they hadn't been starved to the point of exhaustion, how would Zhao Ping and his men have dared to be so presumptuous?

  It's just a pity, and can only sigh in vain.

  This fight was completely one-sided, the six people from Qin had no power to fight back and could only be brutally beaten. It wasn't until Zhao Ping and his men lost interest that they stopped.

  They're always finding new ways to torment Qin Yi, they get a kick out of it, don't they do this kind of thing every day?

  "Great! Great! Really great!" Zhao Ping let go of Qin Yi, feeling extremely relieved and exhilarated, throwing his head back and shouting with joy.

  Six men from Qin were panting heavily, they had been tormented by hunger to the point of exhaustion, and after being brutally beaten, their bodies were drained of energy, each one lying limp on the ground like a puddle of mud, without even the strength to stand up.

  "Qin Yiren, look at this!" Zhao Ping slowly pulled out a blackish pancake from his bosom and flashed it at Qin Yiren with a smug expression.

  "Gulp!" A swallowing sound came from the throats of Qin Yiren, Meng Zhao, Fan Tong, Ma Gai, Hei Bo and Miao Er.

  They had been in extreme hunger for three years, and food had a fatal attraction to them. This piece of bread was the worst and lowest quality at first glance, but it still made them salivate, with everyone's eyes shining brightly, as if they wanted to snatch it over and swallow it immediately.

  "Want to eat?" Zhao Ping proudly raised his head and scanned Qin Yiren and the other five people.

  Isn't this nonsense? Whoever falls into such a situation, whoever wants to eat. Qin Yiren didn't want to nod, but his head was disobedient and nodded fiercely, like a chick pecking at rice.

  "Think... oh... in your Tiger Wolf Qin people's words, it's called 'chao', right? If you want to chao, kneel down and kowtow three times to me, I'll give it to you." Zhao Ping was like a crowing rooster, spirited and lively, holding his head high and puffing out his chest, waiting for Qin Yiren to kowtow to him.

  "Hurry up and kowtow! Three heads for one pancake, what a bargain!" Several red-clad attendants followed with jeers.

  "Prince, you mustn't..." Hei Bo, Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong and Mo Er five people hurriedly dissuaded Qin Yiren.

  Qin Yiren waved his hand to stop them from speaking and stared at Zhao Ping with wide eyes.

  "I bet he'll definitely knock his head. This is about eating and living, what's the big deal about knocking one's head?" Zhao Ping said confidently.

  Hei Bo and the others were also worried, if Qin Yi really kowtowed for a piece of cake, he would become a laughing stock, and from then on, he wouldn't be able to hold his head up high, and people would ridicule him.

  "Zhao Ping, you can hit me, scold me, mock me, but you absolutely cannot humiliate me! What I want to tell you is: go die!" Unexpectedly, Qin Yiren's response was powerful and sonorous.

  Regarding updates, they are tentatively scheduled for 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM. If there are any changes, I will notify you separately.