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During the time of Emperor Wu of Han, Wusun was definitely a powerful country. It was said that it had a hundred thousand soldiers and dozens of extraordinary men. A force of this size could be considered a local vassal even in the Central Plains, let alone in the Western Regions.
But the reason why Hadili and Zeluo were so wary of Wusun was not entirely because of his strength.
Wusun was once destroyed, but it was restored with the help of Xiongnu. The current Wusun king, Liejiaomi, is the adopted son of the last Xiongnu leader, Junchen Chanyu. So Wusun and Xiongnu are now in a honeymoon period.
If the Wusun were really allowed to settle in the Western Regions, it would be easier to invite the gods than to send them away.
Even Hadili, after hearing this, tactfully advised Gao Gu: "Sage, please consider this matter again."
Seeing that everyone in the Western Regions was against him except Hu Xiuwu, Gao Gu understood that the matter was not yet mature. Before he met Hu Xiuwu, he had not thought that he would have to face off against Jingjue this time.
Originally, he was going to let Gao Lu do this. When the Western Regions countries had experienced several years of exploitation and oppression by Jingjue and reached the limit, they would have to do it even if it was like drinking poison to quench thirst. Anyway, it wouldn't be worse.
At present, they have not been forced into a desperate situation by Jingjue, and other countries in the Western Regions are still very wary of Wusun and the Xiongnu behind it.
Gao Gu was just testing him, so when he saw that Hadili and Ze Luo were against it, he did not insist and said apologetically:
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it through. In this case, I will try to persuade King Yanqi to see if he is willing to fight against Jingjue."
Ze Luo laughed at him: "Don't be ridiculous. You are such a cautious person. If you are not absolutely sure, would you risk leaking the secret to persuade the King of Yanqi?"
Gao Gu smiled without saying anything, and did not refute him, and then said:
"If we take into account the journey, we have a month to prepare. One month later, King Luo will meet with the Queen of Jingjue on the pretext of transporting Jinjin's supplies and weapons, and escorting Mr. Xiuwu, and the four of us will carry out the assassination."
"Let's fight to decide the outcome."
Chapter 147 The Disadvantages of Hadili
Since the last moonlit conspiracy, several people began to act in full swing. Hu Xiuwu wrote down the formula of the Western Region Fire Dragon Oil and gave it to Zhe Luo. Zhe Luo immediately arranged for his craftsmen to secretly develop the Western Region Fire Dragon Oil. He set up the Western Region Fire Dragon Oil workshop in the West City, in the heavily guarded Blacksmith Market.
Under the pretext of maintaining the palace murals, he purchased large quantities of mural materials from the markets of the Western Regions, mixed them with Western Region fire dragon oil, and then openly sent them to the blacksmith market.
The mixing of mural pigments is complicated, involves many raw materials, and causes serious pollution. It is reasonable to place it in the blacksmith market, which is heavily guarded and also has to discharge wastewater.
[For the mixing of the mural pigments, please watch the first episode of the first season of National Treasure. It is similar to the mixing of the pigments in the Magnificent Rivers and Mountains. In short, it is cumbersome and expensive, a luxury among luxuries.]
Gao Gu also consciously left most of the Gao family members in Yancheng, including Gao Lu, as hostages, and went to Yanqi Kingdom with only Gao Yue and a few others to persuade the King of Yanqi to join the uprising.
After half a month,
With the help of Zhe Luo, several master craftsmen of Kucha worked together and it only took half a month to forge Hadili's weapon. Zhe Luo specifically notified him to quietly go to the blacksmith shop to get it.
Hu Xiuwu had nothing to do except practicing these days. He was not as good as Chen Duo who could sit still. And for some reason, she and Zumureti had been playing together these days. The two girls stuck together every day.
I have nothing to do, so I might as well join in the fun.
Hadili could travel directly from the shadows to the blacksmith shop, but Hu Xiuwu would have a little more trouble. He could only leave Prince Gumo's mansion quietly and then sneak into the blacksmith shop.
When he arrived, Hadili had already got his two swords.
The Kucha blacksmith used the drawings given by Hadili when making the double swords. He was inspired by Zumuretti's graceful dance moves when he was appreciating her dance.
The pair of short swords are one and a half feet long, with slender blades and a slight curvature, which is convenient for close combat. They are agile and graceful to use, which suits his identity as a shadow assassin very well.
Hadili couldn't let go of the pair of knives. He looked at the mirror-like blades, then danced with the two knives in the open space of the blacksmith shop to get used to the length and weight of the pair of short knives.
Ze Luo was also watching from the side, and when he saw this he spoke:
"If you want to get used to weapons, just dancing with a sword is not enough. You need to practice with others to develop a better understanding with the weapons. Let me help you!"
Without waiting for Hadili to respond, Ze Luo rushed towards him with a roar, and the sound waves surrounded their king like sea waves accompanying a giant whale.
The continuous forging sounds around the blacksmith shop during the day drowned out Zhero's voice.
Having just obtained the precious sword, Hadili was not afraid of anyone and was full of fighting spirit. He crossed his two swords to block the first sonic attack, then hid in the shadows and disappeared on the spot.
Ze Luo was the only one left on the field, accompanied by the sound of iron hammering and the heat waves.
Hu Xiuwu watched this battle between shadow and sound with great interest.
Ze Luo deliberately walked under the scorching sunlight, trying to reduce the shadows nearby as much as possible, and also shrink the area of his own shadow, the only thing he could not get rid of, as small as possible.
The hot wind blew up the ribbon on Ze Luo's forehead, but Ze Luo didn't care about it. He was still alert to every shadow on the field, as every shadow might hide a cold blade.
call!
In the shadow under the eaves, a steel knife whizzed out and flew towards Zhe Luo, spinning in the air like a wheel.
Ze Luo just raised his hand and knocked it away, but the key was not the knife, but the mottled shadow cast by the dagger on the ground under the sunlight.
A figure twisted and rushed out from that small shadow.
clang!clang!clang!
Wave after wave of iron-pounding sounds came from in front of Zhe Luo, like a continuous downpour.
But Ze Luo's expression was a little strange, a little surprised, and a little disappointed, as if to say:
That's it. That's it.
If I had known you couldn't break through my defense, I wouldn't have been so vigilant just now.
The continuous sound of hammering iron is like water dripping through a stone, which is very admirable.
Ze Luo seemed a little impatient and roared at Hadili, repelling him.
With the help of his own shadow, Hadili disappeared again, but this time Ze Luo stopped and ignored Hadili:
"That's enough! Come out, Hadili! I'm not in the mood to play with you!"
Hadili, holding a dagger, slowly rose from the shadow on the ground. For some reason, Ze Luo suddenly stopped and was quite at a loss.
Ze Luo showed him no mercy: "Is this all you have?"
"I admit that your shadow escape method is indeed unique. I can't detect you after you hide in the shadow. If it is the first time I meet you, I will definitely suffer a great loss, but..."
There is a twist in the words, either lavish praise or lavish criticism:
"Who can you subdue with your attack power? You are not as good as that kid! No wonder you failed to assassinate the Queen of Jingjue last time. What can you do with your attack power? Are you going to help her cut her nails, or be a clown to amuse the Queen of Jingjue?"
Ze Luo pointed at Hu Xiuwu.
Hadili's face turned red when he heard what he said, and he couldn't help but glance at Hu Xiuwu. Even the hand holding the knife could make people feel his nervousness and embarrassment, as if he was suddenly called by the teacher to the podium, but made a fool of himself in front of the whole class, that kind of overflowing shame and embarrassment.
But he knew that Ze Luo was telling the truth.
It's no wonder that Hu Xiuwu actually understood what was said. He had been idle during this period of time, so he learned the Kucha dialect. Although he was not fluent in it, at least he could communicate normally.
To be precise, it is the brain-spirit root that has learned it, relying on the host and yet transcending the host's memory. This is why Wu Dechang was so worried that the brain-spirit root would take over the host's memory.
Ze Luo said coldly: "You have already demonstrated your abilities in front of the Queen of Jingjue. She must have been on guard. If this is all you are capable of, then you might as well just dance for us next time."
Then he no longer looked at his expression and simply turned around and left. Hadili's performance really disappointed him. If it weren't for the fact that the arrow was already on the string and Hu Xiuwu also gave him a lot of confidence,
If he only had an ally like Hadili, Luo really wouldn't want to get involved in this mess.
Hadili picked up the other dagger he had thrown just now with a lonely look, put away the two knives, looked at Hu Xiuwu who was still standing beside him, and forced a smile:
"I'm sorry to make you laugh, Xiuwu."
Hu Xiuwu comforted him in the broken and stiff Kuchean language: "In fact, if you can cover the blade with the power of shadow, it should be able to enhance the attack power."
Hadili sighed: "I know what you said, but no matter how hard I try, I can't mobilize the power of shadow. I can only passively move through the shadow."
"There is only half a month left before the implementation of the plan. I have no way to break through the limit and enhance my attack power in this short half month."
The difficulties Hadili mentioned are also a common problem for all people with innate superpowers. They can use their innate superpowers as easily as they swing their arms, but to break out of the innate framework and expand new abilities is harder than climbing to the sky.
Hu Xiuwu was a little conflicted. When it came to quick success, he actually had a method that he had never used, but the cost of practicing this method was extremely high. Even Yu Baiyuan had repeatedly reminded him to practice with caution.
Hadili and Zumuredi have been together day and night, and it seems that he has also been infected with some of his telepathic abilities. He keenly saw Hu Xiuwu's hesitation:
"Could it be that, Xiuwu, you have a solution?"
Seeing that Hadili had figured it out, Hu Xiuwu stopped being shy and said, "Yes, I do have a quick method, but it's very costly. It requires burning your lifespan."
The method of merit and destruction created by Lin Pokou, the forefather of Penglai Sword School,
Red Lotus Ninja Technique,
Chapter 148 Red Lotus Fire
The Red Lotus Ninjutsu is a spell created by the founder of Penglai, Lin Podi, based on the Japanese fire ninjutsu. It does not seek immortality, but only to kill the enemy.
As long as one can endure the pain of body transformation and breaking, and the suffering of life burning, this Red Lotus Ninja Technique can exchange life for time, allowing people to get started in a very short period of time. As long as they are willing to pay the price, even the last move of destroying oneself together can be learned.
Moreover, this spell is not the fundamental method of the Youyue Sword Sect. As long as you trust the character of the person being taught, you can teach it to others after setting restrictions.
Back then, Lin Podi had gathered a group of people like him who were left alone with only anger because their families were destroyed by the Japanese invaders, and taught them the Red Lotus Ninja Technique.
Then, with these resentful people as the petals of the Red Lotus and Lin Podi as the core, a Red Lotus Team was formed to pour their anger on the enemies.
Hu Xiuwu introduced the Red Lotus Ninjutsu to Hadili in its entirety and in detail, especially its side effects, and told him everything without reservation.
After listening carefully to Hu Xiuwu's description, Hadili didn't care about the side effects of the Red Lotus Ninja Technique at all. Instead, he asked about Lin Podi:
"Where is the senior who created the Red Lotus Ninja Method?"
Hu Xiuwu said: "He only lived to be forty."
"Did he fulfill his wish?"
Looking at Hadili who was looking at him hopefully, Hu Xiuwu vaguely knew his choice:
"Before he died, he helped his division commander calm the waves of the 800-mile sea, making the 800-mile coastal area peaceful and prosperous."
Hadili knelt on one knee and shouted: "Please grant me divine power."
Looking at Hadili kneeling in front of him, Hu Xiuwu couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"I have nothing to fear from death. I am only worried that Gu Mo will be dragged down by me because of my lack of strength."
Hadili looked directly into Hu Xiuwu's eyes, his gaze was clear and without the slightest hesitation, and his words were sonorous and powerful, coming from the heart.
Looking at Hadili's determined eyes, Hu Xiuwu suddenly understood the true meaning of what Yu Baiyuan had said to him at that time: "Don't be afraid of death, be afraid of incompetence."
Hu Xiuwu sighed: "Just don't regret it later."
Hadili was overjoyed and said, "I will never regret it!"
"Okay, I will set a forbidden technique for you, and you cannot pass on the Red Lotus Ninja Technique to others."
"Then, I will teach you the Red Lotus Ninja Method."