Chapter Thirty-Eight: Crisis

  What was the most headache-inducing thing in the Warring States period?

  Many people think of Qin. The tiger-wolf state of Qin, with one against six, grew stronger with each battle, and finally destroyed the six states. Is there anything more frustrating than this?

  In fact, Qin was indeed a headache for the various states, but it wasn't the most troublesome. In the Warring States period, what gave the various states the biggest headache were the wandering knights.

  As soon as we mention the heroic guests, we think of famous assassins such as Want, Zhuan Zhu, Nie Zheng, Ge Nie and Lu Juren. They were worth a thousand pieces of gold for their promise, and they did not hesitate to sacrifice themselves to fulfill their promises, making countless later generations admire them.

  However, these people were just minor branches of knights-errant during the Warring States period and didn't even enter the mainstream.

  In the Warring States period, a true knight-errant would not kill for revenge or money, but for the country and the people, as stated in the famous phrase "The greatest chivalry is to benefit the country and the people."

  This kind of person is called "Scholar-Knight" or "Political Knight".

  A knight-errant is not simply a warrior, but an ideologue with firm political beliefs, a celebrity, and also has superb martial arts skills. Both are indispensable; having only excellent martial arts skills without a flexible mind cannot make one a knight-errant, and having only a flexible mind without extraordinary martial arts skills that others can't match also cannot make one a knight-errant.

  Scholars and knights will not participate in personal revenge, nor will they sell their political beliefs for money. Their aim is to eliminate difficulties and resolve disputes between countries, allowing them to live in peace and no longer resort to arms.

  It is because of this that the knights-errant became a beacon in the Warring States period. Whoever was remembered by the knights-errant must have done something that enraged heaven and men, and would be ashamed by the world. As for the knights-errant, no country dared to offend them, even the seven major warring states did not dare to easily offend them.

  Scholars and knights live in cities, travel through mountains and fields, resolve political disputes, and make countries surrender. They become the most important figures of their time.

  The prevalence of chivalry is closely related to Mozi. Mozi was a great thinker who advocated for "universal love and non-aggression" and widely recruited disciples, teaching them not only his thoughts but also martial arts. As a result, the Mohist disciples had both strong political beliefs and excellent martial skills, and wherever they went, the various states gave way to them.

  Even the famous authoritarian figure Shang Yang did not dare to provoke them. When Shang Yang began to reform in Qin, he was criticized by the Mohists, and Shang Yang did not dare to confront them head-on, but could only adopt a roundabout strategy to resolve the conflict, which shows how great the influence of the Mohist group was.

  After Mozi's death, his disciples were dissatisfied with each other, leading to the split of Mohism. As time passed, the influence of Mohism became smaller and smaller, and the knights lost their banner and began to degenerate, gradually transforming into a black society. Although they were called knights, they had long since become different from the knights in Mozi's lifetime. They would kill people for money, kill people for personal revenge... As long as there was profit to be made, they would not hesitate to kill.

  Therefore, Mozi, this great thinker, became the ancestor of China's underworld.

  What's even more ridiculous is that there are people who kill for the sake of fame, and Jing Ke is the best example of this type. Jing Ke was a chivalrous man with extraordinary political vision, he knew very well that Qin's unification was already inevitable, yet he still wanted to go against the tide and assassinate Qin Shi Huang. The reason was simple: he saw an opportunity to gain fame overnight.

  If Mozi were alive, Jing Ke would be expelled by Mozi because he had degenerated and was a humiliation to the knights-errant, not worthy of being called a "knight-errant".

  Jing Yun was a famous knight-errant, renowned throughout the land. The various states avoided him, and so when Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, and Fan Tong heard his name, they were all shocked and lost their composure.

  "It's indeed true that those who come with ill intentions will arrive, while those with good intentions won't." Qin Yiren was inwardly shocked and secretly lamented.

  A hero is not a small-minded person like Zhao Ping, he must have brains and skills to deal with such characters, even if Qin Yiren is cunning as a fox, it's still felt to be a thorn in the side.

  Scholars are wise, to deal with the wise is not so easy. Not to mention, they also have extraordinary skills that ordinary people can't match, they are both literary and martial, to cope with them, how can it be easy?

  "Hmm!" The name of the person, the shadow of the tree, Jingyun's one move shook Qin Yiren and others, stunned. Jingyun was very satisfied with this result, nodding heavily.

  "May I ask what brings you here?" Qin Yiren turned his head to think of a response strategy, asking questions with his mouth and delaying time.

  "You're trying to stall for time, aren't you?" Jingyun was indeed a wise person, and she saw right through Qin Yiren's intentions.

  Qin Yiren was taken aback, silently cursing the fact that it was indeed difficult to deal with such a knight-errant. However, he cracked a cold smile and said, "This is my residence, you entered without my permission, don't I have the right to ask your purpose? Is this how a knight-errant behaves?"

  "A welcome guest." Jingyun didn't put it to heart at all, and strode over, as if he wasn't an unwelcome visitor, but rather this was his home, with a straight face and an air of confidence.

  "My intention for coming here is entirely up to you, young master." Jingyun gave Qin Yiren a sidelong glance. For someone like Qin Yiren, a fallen prince, he didn't even consider him worthy of being looked at straight in the eye. He said, "There are two possibilities: either you refuse my kindness and I'll kill you; or you accept my kindness and we become close friends from now on."

  A faint smile, extremely gentle and charming, makes people feel the warmth of basking in the warm sun on a cold winter's day.

  "Let's talk about it." Qin Yiren wanted to think of a countermeasure, but could only stall for time.

  "Just follow Mr. Lü's arrangement." Jingyun said lightly: "Of course, you can also refuse. However, I want to remind you that you should think carefully about the consequences of refusing. Those who are killed by a knight-errant will be shamed by others, and even the King of Qin will not avenge you."

  Although the knight-errant had degenerated into an assassin, his reputation still lingered. If Qin Yi was killed by Jing Yun, not only would no one plead injustice for him, but he would also end up in disrepute and be nailed to a shame rack.

  "How vicious!" Qin Yiren was furious in his heart. Not only did he kill people, but also wanted to tarnish their reputation. Was there anything more vicious than this?

  "You can tell me your choice." Jingyun's gaze was like a sharp sword, lingering on Qin Yiren.

  This is the signal for action, once the knight makes a move, it must be earth-shattering and make people tremble with fear, the atmosphere is extremely oppressive, like a huge mountain pressing on one's chest, making it hard to breathe.

  Qin Yi knew that he was facing the most dangerous situation in his life, and if he didn't handle it well, he would be ruined and wouldn't even have a place to cry out for injustice.

  If he were facing Zhao Xiao Cheng Wang, Qin Yi Ren could fully utilize the psychological fear of the Qin army's military might, but what he faced was a world-renowned knight-errant. Knight-errants kill people with justice and righteousness; those who are killed by knight-errants must have committed an offense that angers both heaven and men, deserving death!

  Even if this news is passed back to the State of Qin, the King of Qin cannot defy the will of heaven for his revenge.

  In short, Qin Yi's death was a deserved one.

  "Protect the young master!" Meng Zhao, Ma Gai and Fan Tong knew they were no match for him, yet they didn't retreat. Instead, they charged forward, blocking Qin Yiren's path.

  Meng Zhao, Ma Gai and Fan Tong were re-armed, but their bodies had not recovered yet, thin as a bamboo pole, the only improvement was that there was finally some color on their faces.

  Looking at Jingyun, he's as strong as an ox, no need to fight to know the outcome.

  Qin Yiren felt a warmth in his heart, Meng Zhao and others were loyal and dedicated, where can such subordinates be found?

  The Qin people value righteousness, and this is indeed true!

  Jingyun glanced at the three of them and said calmly, "If you were all at your peak, it would be a struggle to have one battle. Whether or not I can force you to draw your swords is questionable. As for now..."

  Before he could finish his sentence, three dull thuds were heard, and Meng Zhao and the other two flew out like kites with broken strings, heavily smashing into the wall, which was smashed into a big hole.

  Jingyun's moves were as swift as the wind, as quick as lightning, and his aura was extraordinary, with a majestic air of a master. Compared to him, Meng Zhao and the other two were like minor sorcerers versus a great one.

  "This...” Qin Yiren had never seen such a high level of skill in his two lifetimes. In just the blink of an eye, Meng Zhao and the other three were severely injured. What kind of skill was this? Qin Yiren was deeply shocked.

  "Cough, cough, cough!" Meng Zhao and the other two spat out blood in unison, their injuries not light. However, they disregarded their own well-being, struggled to get up, and desperately rushed towards Jing Yun.

  "Go quickly, young master!" Hei Bo gave Qin Yiren a push and stood in front of him, standing straight as a pine tree, without the slightest hint of fear.

  "Master, hurry up, hurry up!" Mo Er urged, pushing Qin Yiren to make him walk faster.

  "Stop him." Qin Yiren's face solidified, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes, without any hesitation, he dropped a sentence and turned to run towards the inner room. (Jingyun is an extremely important transitional character, his son is very famous, as for who it is, I believe friends can guess.)