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God of War - Legend of Li Jing

"The Legend of Li Jing, the Military God" - This is not just a historical novel, it's a masterpiece that completely reshapes the legend of Li Jing, one of the four great generals in Chinese history. Set in the most splendid era of Sui and Tang dynasties, this novel skillfully reconstructs the dynamic era, allowing readers to deeply experience the political, cultural, military, and social landscapes of that time. Here, Li Jing's growth is not just a hero's journey, but also a profound exploration into Chinese traditional culture and national character. In this novel, elements of intrigue and romance are ingeniously integrated, creating a world that is both realistic and imaginative. The author extensively draws upon the pacing of Western novels and the narrative strengths of traditional Chinese chapter novels. This unique combination not only enhances the rhythm and tension of the story but also presents a rich and captivating narrative world to the readers.

NostalgicCaptain · History
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33 Chs

Shadowless Ghost Hand

Li Jing was surprised, and Xiao Meiniang's body trembled slightly. Because, she heard Qing Ni's voice: "Hey, Old Man , we're dying of cold, is there a fire in the house?"

at this moment, the two people in the room that seemed extremely calm. Wang ShanKe finished lighting the candles and returned to the Shadowless Ghost Hand, sitting down cross-legged.

 The fisherman says: "Inside the house is warm, so please come in. It's just that the house is simple, so please make yourself at home, If you feel I'm not thoughtful enough, please don't mind."

Xie Kangtu's voice came out, "Old man, Killing Fish at this late hour, could it be that there is an honoured guest in the house?"

The fisherman said, "It is two officials, but it is also passing ... passing."

No one outside the door spoke again.

The Shadowless coldly said, "Since you're here, please come in by yourselves." The voice was like the hissing of snakes and insects, and it was like a different person from when he had spoken with Wang Shanke earlier, which gave Li Jing goosebumps all over his body.

Han Zhong said, "So, you're the 'Mr. Invisible Ghost Hand'! I'm HanZhong, a lieutenant of the Great Sui Luzhou General Administration."

Wang Shanke said, "Just a mere second lieutenant, how dare you have the nerve to mention your rank to others?! If you have the guts, come in; if you don't, get lost!"

Han Zhong said, "It's cold outside, we'd better come in."

Then a series of footsteps sounded, and a group of people entered the house, almost filling the room. Li Jing looked through the cracks in the wooden boat, but saw Han Zhong in front, followed by Xie Kangtu, and an elderly person carrying a guqin, followed by Zhang Ke, Qing Ni, Alone Star, and A Yue. The old man carrying the guqin was holding A yue in his arms, while Alone Star was being held by Zhang Ke. Li Jing had seen the old man carrying the guqin before the ship caught fire. At that time, he was in a hurry and didn't take a closer look, but only then did he see clearly: he was over 70 years old, with a head of white hair, a body as thin as firewood, and a deep-set eye socket, but his pupils were burning with light.

The Shadowless Ghost Hand didn't even move his arse and said to Wang Shanke, "General Wang, you and I are lucky, not bad!"

Wang ShanKe looked at the old man carrying the guqin and suddenly laughed out loud, "Old Immortal, you are able to walk away from under the eyes of Great General Xiao and still survive the fire, you do have a few skills. If you are still lucky enough to escape tonight, I will not pursue the matter again."

The old man did not even look at him, gently put down A Yue, whispered: "A Yue good girl, I'll play the guqin for you in a while." Then he took the guqin off his back, opened the grey sheepskin guqin bag, took out the ancient guqin, sitting on the ground with legs crossed, and put the guqin across his knees.

Wang Shanke was greatly annoyed, "Dead old man, on the verge of death, you still have the heart to play the guqin!"

Shadowless Ghost Hand raised his hand to stop Wang ShanKe, "Er, General Wang, you must not spoil the scenery."

Little A yue blinking eyes: "Master, I am hungry. You told me that the guqin is to burn incense to purify the hands before playing, here ... here is cold and dirty, and there is no food, I don't want to listen to it ..." said and stuffed her ears with her fingers.

The old man looked at her lovingly and said softly, '' A yue , you've been calling Master for most of the year, but Master hasn't taught you to play a single song. For one thing, you are still young, and for another, there is no timing. If you can get out alive tonight, you must remember Master's words: the guqin is a divine product, through which one can talk to all things in heaven and earth ..."

A Yue did not understand, tilted his head and asked, "Master, you always say that we come out to play, all have to listen to you, but I have not seen my father for a long time, my mother must miss me ... I want to go home, I will not die."

The old man smiled, "A Yue, I lied to you before, don't blame me. Remember that night when we jumped out of the wall?"

A Yue said, "I remember. The moon was very full that night, and there were many people with torches outside the wall. Master said that it was playing with us, if I keep letting them not find me, I can get a pottery rattling ball (Note: Ancient children's sound toys, hollow inside, containing projectile stone particles, rustling when shaken) ... Master, I don't want the pottery rattling ball, I think my mother ... ..." said, hands over eyes, seems to be about to cry out.

When Li Jing heard this, his heart ached. It had only been two days since he had brought Alone Star with him, and Alone Star is extremely intelligent, Made him feel extremely weary. This old man along with a mischievous little girl, evaded capture for nearly half a year, all the way but also non-stop lie, its hardship can be imagined!

The old man sighed, "A Yue, your mother and your father are dead."

A Yue didn't believe it, "My mother won't die, and my mother is going to give me new clothes ..."

The old man looked at the silent Wang Shanke and whispered, "A Yue, this general is the murderer who participated in the brutal killing of your father and your mother. Not only your mother and your father, your whole family, also those guards, your aunts, were all killed by them without a single one left ... When the big ship was on fire, it was him who wanted to burn you to death, and he didn't care about the lives of hundreds of people. Tonight, he will cut off your little head ..."

A Yue finally cried. After all, coming from a royal family, that crying was only a low sob. Li Jing couldn't help but shed tears as he listened.

When Wang ShanKe heard this, he could no longer hold his emotions and said loudly, "The king's order is hard to disobey, I was ordered by the emperor to kill the family of the rebel Chen Shuling, and there is no impropriety in terms of reason and law! Old man, if you are sensible, you should be obediently bound, that way you might have a chance to live."

The old man calmly said, "Encountering you is unfortunate, life and death are just that. General Wang, would you allow me to play a piece before taking our heads?"

Wang ShanKe looked at the Shadowless Ghost Hand, seemingly unable to make a decision.

.

The Shadowless Ghost Hand didn't even raise his head: ''We're originally from two different paths, so why should General Wang ask me? Captain Han, you have been with me for half a day on the ship, so you are quite capable. But I tell you in all sincerity: if you hand over the boy to me, I will never make things difficult for you; if you don't listen to good advice, this candle is an example!" As soon as the word "example" was uttered, the crowd saw a blur before their eyes, but the Shadowless Ghost Hand sat back down again. Li Jing couldn't see clearly at all through the cracks in the ship's boards.

The candle on the cooker was still burning. Han Zhong said coldly, ''Shadowless Ghost Hand, it really lives up to its name! The short sword was sheathed, and with a single swing, it actually chopped the candle into six sections, and each section was the same length. I'm afraid there are no more than ten people in the world who can do that."

The crowd was horrified. Even Wang ShanKe was taken aback, not realising that his sworn brothers from back then had now practiced supreme martial arts.

"Ten?" The Shadowless Ghost Hand laughed coldly, "I have been cultivating for twenty years in the bitterly cold lands of the Western Region, "Are there nine other people in the whole of the Yangtze River and Yellow River region who are more formidable than me?"

The crowd was dumbfounded. Xie Kangtu said, "Mr Ghost Hand, I don't know anything about martial arts, but I heard as early as twenty years ago: anyone that the Shadowless Ghost Hand wants to kill, none of them can live in the world. Twenty years ago is still so, today the world is afraid that no one dares to challenge with you."

A muscle tugged on the expressionless face of the Shadowless Ghost Hand, and his snake eyes stared at Xie Kangtu, "With these words, you can live tonight."

At that moment, the fisherman outside the house came in with two large fish and said to the crowd, "The fish has been cleaned, do you want them steamed? Or do you want it boiled?"

Wang Shanke said, "Put it in the pot first. The fish is good, but I'm afraid you all won't be able to eat it."

Everyone understands. If you know you are going to die, I'm afraid you won't be able to eat anything.

The fisherman put the fish into the pot, "Then I'll leave first, not to disturb the gentlemen's discussion." Saying this, he turned to leave.

Shadowless Ghost Hand said in a cold voice, "Not busy. If the old gentleman wants to play the guqin, it's good to have one more person to listen to it, so we must not spoil the old gentleman's pleasure."

Wang Shanke said, "Brother Qiu, let's join hands to kill all of them, no need for further talk!"

The Shadowless Ghost Hand said indifferently, ''General Wang is escorting the king of a country, but surprisingly, he has not learnt half of the manners of the Southern Dynasties! The old gentleman said it well, the guqin is a divine product, and the person who plays the guqin is the messenger between man and heaven and earth, ghosts and gods. I would also like to ask the old gentleman to play the guqin to reward his soulmate."

Wang Shanke closed his mouth. The crowd even dared not make a sound.

The old man had his hand on the strings of the guqin and closed his eyes in meditation, seeming to recall the time that had passed, and also seeming to meditate on the metaphysics of the repertoire. All the people listened intently, even Li jing focused all his attention.

A long time, the old man finally played the first light sound, as a drop of rain fell into the grass, slowly fading; then, the sound of the guqin seems to have smoke and dust cover the field, tears on the lapel, endless sadness; immediately, the sound of the guqin seems to be like the dust and sand, the moon is cold and bleak, people cut off their hearts and intestines; suddenly the sound of the guqin is soaring, as a hundred geese flying high, 10,000 horses, the wind and water throat, the wordless sorrow ... ... Li Jing's throat was choked with emotion, and he felt a fingertip scratching on his palm, which was Meiniang writing the word "eighteen".

A long song, finally finished playing, the listener all look grave, even the little a month is also attracted by the master's masterpiece, hanging on the little face of the teardrops also forgot to wipe. That Wang Shan can although reckless, also by the sound of the guqin firmly grasp, the figure as a wooden sculpture; The Shadowless Ghost although stood very straight, however, gills drumming, forehead seeping sweat, actually seems to be obsessed with the general.

Suddenly, the shadowless ghost hand as if waking up from a dream, snappy stretch two fingers, in Wang ShanKe rib a poke. Only then did Wang ShanKe come back to his senses, and under the light of the fire, his head was sweating like pulp.

Shadowless Ghost Hand cupped his fists and said, "The sound and rhythm that I have heard in my life is not as good as this piece of 'Eighteen Stanzas in Nomadic Reed Pipe' of mister, and I didn't expect mister to be able to integrate his power into the sound of the guqin, which can hurt people's vital energy. I think, sir should have a deep connection with Wushan Yue nü Sword Sect."

The old man answered quietly, "I am Zhang Xian, Yalso known as Yu Zhong, indeed, I am a member of the Yue Nü Sword Sect. Mr Ghost Hand's power is so deep that I can't hurt my internal organs, I admire you!"

Shadowless Ghost Hand nodded his head and said: ''Yu Zhong, Yu Zhong, it seems to be a tribute to Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, a pair of ancient soulmates. The Yue female school is mainly female, but the secret martial arts is also considered to be the top. However, Mr Zhang is obsessed with the guqin and has neglected his proper profession, otherwise, the person who splattered his blood tonight should be me."

Zhang Xian smiled and said, "martial arts, in itself, is illusory. Music can communicate with all things much better. Mr Ghost Hand is indeed outstanding in martial arts, but his hands are stained with blood, and even if he gets a fee of millions, it is still ill-gotten gains."

Shadowless Ghost Hand shook his head and said, "Mr Zhang is wrong! I am originally an assassin, entrusted by others and loyal to others. A thousand pieces of gold is better than a promise, so how can I go against my heart? Just as Mister is obsessed with the guqin, I also respect my duty."

This was an understatement, but Li Jing was saddened to hear it. It was unspeakable that a jungle killer would be so firm in his beliefs and treat life like grass.

Zhang Ke, who hadn't said anything, said, "All of you are masters of martial arts, while I am a fisherman, so I shouldn't have interjected. But after hearing what Mr Ghost Hand said, I can't agree with him. If you kill innocent children just for the sake of so-called honesty, what sets you apart from a beast?

Li Jing expected Zhang Ke's words to infuriate the Shadowless Ghost Hand. However, the Shadowless Ghost Hand responded sincerely, "the prince's maternal uncle, I am here to make amends for the many offences I committed on the ship. However, when it comes to killing, how many people did Liang kill when it was founded? How many people did you kill during the founding of Liang and how many did you kill during the founding of Chen? How many people have been killed in the past thousands of years, and how many people have been killed in the past thousands of years, and how many people have been killed by soldiers? You say children can not be killed, but if this child does not die, will lead to thousands of people to lose their lives, how do you deal with it?"

Zhang Ke said indignantly, "How can a mere child make thousands of people pay for their lives?"

Shadowless Ghost Hand said: "Ordinary people's children can not, but born in the royal family can. Tonight the words have come to this point, if I do not make it clear, the world will spread the word that I Qiu Renxin indiscriminate killing. This three-year-old child, is the current emperor of the Sui dynasty and concubines born of fornication, if not eliminated, the future will lead to royal strife, so I was entrusted to remove the root, to eliminate future problems!"

The crowd was shocked at this statement. Only then did Li Jing realise that the Shadowless Ghost Hand's name was Qiu Renxin.

Han Zhong said, "I know I'm not your match, but I, Han Zhong, am also devoted to my beliefs. Make your move."

Qiu Renxin glanced at Wang Shanke: "General Wang, are we going to do our own thing? Or do we join forces?"

Wang ShanKe's spirit was much worse than before, and he reluctantly said:"'I'll obey Brother Qiu's arrangement."

Li Jing felt his feet were squatting numb, and both sides still did not make a move, so he could not help but feel strange. Han Qinhu had told him that marching and fighting was all about the opportunity to fight. The Shadowless Ghost Hand changed its cold ferocity, spoke here and there,but not making a move, seemingly looking for a war opportunity.

Sure enough, Qiu Renxin's figure moved and floated by like smoke. Li Jing was unable to see it at all, but he obviously felt that he was running towards the direction where Alone Star was, so he could not help but break out in a cold sweat. However, in the blink of an eye, Qiu Renxin's figure turned around ghostly once againk, and his short sword was already at the fisherman's throat. Suddenly, a large net fell from the roof, covering Qiu Renxin and the fisherman.

The fisherman was originally standing by the stove with his hands tightly clenched. at the edge of the stove, in the opposite direction from where Alone Star was. When Qiu Renxin's figure flashed, Han Zhong had already crossed in front of Alone Star. Almost at the same time, Wang ShanKe's sword had stabbed into Zhang Xian's guqin. Han Chong's sword was still in his hand, but his body had fallen. Immediately after, Wang Shanke's throat made a choking sound and a stream of blood gushed out. It turned out that in one move, Wang ShanKe's sword was stuck by the wooden guqin, and a triangular iron nail was stuck in his throat, which was obviously a hidden weapon sent by Zhang Xian.

Wang ShanKe and Han Zhong fell almost simultaneously. Qiu Renxin was covered by the large net, he did not even raise his eyelids, still gripping his short sword, but he did not stab forward. Li Jing made an effort to open his eyes, and through the holes of the fish net, he saw that the fish picking knife in the fisherman's hand was pressed against Qiu Renxin's waist. Then, Zhang Xian, who was sitting on the ground, tilted his head and collapsed, and his guqin fell to the ground. Since Zhang Xian's back was facing Li Jing's direction, he did not know where Zhang Xian was injured.

This result was a big surprise to Li Jing. The bloody air in the room poured out of his nose and instantly fell into a dead silence like late night. Even A Yue, who was scared out of her wits, did not dare to cry out.

The fisherman spoke, "Shadowless Ghost Hand, truly the number one killer in the world! In one move, he took the lives of two experts!"

Qiu Renxin said in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you?"

The fisherman said, "My name is Lai Gu'er,I am a native of Jiangdu."

Li Jing almost jumped up from the canoe. This Lai Gu'er had only seen him last night, clearly following Prince Yi Huang far away, how could he be a fisherman?

Qiu Renxin sighed: ''I didn't realise that Qiu Mou had been away from the rivers and lakes for twenty years, and that there was such a top-notch expert on the Yangtze River! However, I do not understand, although you deliberately disguise, but not ordinary fisherman - decades,Qiu had never seen a fisherman face swords with such composure.What's even more suspicious is that if you're dressed up and lurking here, how are you so familiar with the things in this grass hut?"

Lai Gu'er said, ''It seems that Lai Mou has still revealed himself. However, this is really my home. My parents died when I was young, and I make a living by fishing on the river."

Qiu Renxin said, "This net is also a trap you set up?"

Lai Gu'er said, "The whole house is full of organs, just that you don't know it ..."

Before the words left his mouth, he only saw the large net covering the two of them fall straight downwards. The two of them instantly disappeared.