Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation Yu Sheng's life skills were only slightly better than Yi An and Qiu Yun, but he was strong enough that boiling water was not a difficult task for him. Even so, by the time he had boiled enough water to fill a large tub, he was already covered in dirt.
Stepping into the wooden tub, Qin Song sighed comfortably. Although he often washed himself in prison, it had been a long time since he had washed himself from head to toe like this.
Looking down at the wound on his shoulder, he suddenly froze. He remembered that the scab had fallen off yesterday, leaving behind a dark red circular mark. But now, only the white skin was left, and there was no trace of the scab.
He raised his wrist and looked at his hands in astonishment.
These days, he had been wearing iron shackles, so his other injuries were getting better. Only the skin on his wrists was constantly being abraded. However, at this moment, there were only faint red marks left on his wrists, and the calluses and slight deformities on his fingers from years of writing had disappeared without a trace. His hands were beautiful, as if they were carved out of a piece of fine jade, and there was not a single flaw to be found.
This body was different.
Qin Song found that he did not feel the slightest bit surprised by this change … Did he really forget something?
He thought of the invisible barrier. Obviously, it was not something he could break through with his current strength …
Qin Song soaked in the tub until his skin was a little wrinkled. Yu Sheng had also washed up and was waiting outside. When he saw him open the door, he consciously went in to help pour the water.
Qin Song dried his hair until it was half dry, combed it, and put a thin blanket on his shoulders to block the water. He looked at Yu Sheng, who was busy beside the small stove, and thought for a moment before saying, "I don't like to live a muddle-headed life, so there are some things I want to make clear to you."
Yu Sheng was boiling the tea set one by one in the water when he heard Qin Song's words. His hands paused for a moment, and he said, "Go ahead."
Qin Song said, "Those who are locked up in prison will never be grateful to the jailers who bring them food every day. Therefore, no matter how much you do for me, I will not be grateful to you. Of course, I will not be grateful to the people behind you."
No matter how attentive and considerate Yu Sheng was to him, it was impossible for him to like someone sent by Ying Zheng. But Qin Song also knew that no matter how much he disliked it, it would not change anything. Even if he refused to let Yu Sheng stay by his side, what was the use? There were only three possible outcomes. First, Yu Sheng would shamelessly follow him, since he couldn't beat him anyway. Second, Yu Sheng would go into hiding, since he was originally a secret guard. Third, Yu Sheng would go back and be punished, and Ying Zheng would send a new one. No matter what the outcome was, it wouldn't be better than the current situation.
"So, first, since you are doing the work of a follower, I will treat you as a follower. I will pay you as much as you deserve, but that's all."
Yu Sheng made a sound of agreement and didn't say anything.
Qin Song continued, "Second, I can't expel you, but it's not that I don't want to expel you. If one day, I have the ability to expel you, you can either leave or die."
This time, Yu Sheng was silent for a moment before he made another sound of agreement. He still didn't say anything.
"Third, I don't know what you think, but in my opinion, everyone, especially adults with normal judgment, is an independent individual. No one is dependent on anyone. Therefore, you can only be responsible for your own choices." Qin Song said, "I won't be mean to you just because you're sent here by Ying Zheng. But, at the same time, if you do something or plan to do something to set me up, I don't care if you're just following orders, or you have many difficulties … I won't forgive you or understand you. I'll just … kill you by hook or by crook."
Yu Sheng responded quickly this time. For him, this point was a bit redundant — if the operation was exposed or failed, of course, he should die.
He nodded and said, "I understand."
Qin Song was a bit surprised that Yu Sheng agreed so quickly. He paused and said, "If you have any requests, you can tell me."
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, his face turned a little red, "Can I … get a little salary in advance?"
Qin Song was stunned.
Yu Sheng said, "I … don't have a change of clothes."
Qin Song was stunned. Didn't they say that the emperor didn't lack hungry soldiers? How could this shadow guard, who was once ranked Black Number One, be chased out to work empty-handed? Was there some secret that he didn't know?
He silently took out some money and gave it to him, saying, "This twenty taels is your salary for this month. Also, find a reliable slave trader and ask him to bring more people over for selection tomorrow. The remaining ten taels is the deposit for him."
Yu Sheng nodded. Qin Song got up and walked towards the inner room, "I'm very tired. I'm going to sleep first. If there's nothing important, don't disturb me."
Qin Song was indeed very tired. Lying on the bed and hugging the quilt, he fell into a deep sleep — he hadn't had such a good and comfortable sleep for nearly two months.
When Qin Song was awakened by a tempting fragrance, he found that it was already dusk. He got up and went outside. He saw that Yu Sheng was setting the table. The dishes were very rich. He asked in surprise, "You went to buy them?"
"No," Yu Sheng said in a muffled voice, "The cook in the residence made them."
He then explained, "When you were asleep, the government sent people over … they said that they were prepared for the people who were sent back to the residence as hostages."
Qin Song wasn't surprised. After all, Ying Zheng still had to act out the scene of being blinded by lust. Since they had already practiced for a while, it was time for them to "bury the hatchet and reconcile as before".
He simply washed up, rinsed his mouth, and sat at the table, saying, "Sit down and eat together."
In Yu Sheng's training, there was obviously no such thing as a master and servant. Although he was a follower, he still referred to each other as "you and I". At this moment, Qin Song asked him to sit down and eat together. He didn't stand on ceremony and sat down. Before he started eating, he stopped and said hesitantly, "I just went out and bought … um, one person."
Qin Song didn't think much of it and made a sound of acknowledgment. Buying a person was just a small matter.
Yu Sheng was a little annoyed, saying, "On the way, I was bumped into by him for no reason. He insisted that I took his grass label and wanted me to pay for him … he has some martial arts skills and is very fast. I couldn't get rid of him. In the end, I had no choice but to give him the money. He followed me again."
Why did this scene sound so familiar?
Qin Song asked, "Where is he?"
Yu Sheng said, "He's outside. Should I call him in? "
Qin Song made a sound of acknowledgment. After a while, he heard a familiar voice. It was still as proud as before, "This lowly one, Han Pu, greets gongzi!"
Qin Song's face was wooden as he looked at the dirty cloth hanging on Han Pu's body. He turned his head and asked Yu Sheng, "Why didn't you let him change first?"
Yu Sheng said, "I don't have any clothes for him to change into … he took all the money."
So even if you don't have money to buy clothes, he does!
Qin Song was speechless. After a while, he said, "… Let's eat."
He now knew why shadow guards were a lifelong occupation. It was because if they retired, they wouldn't be able to live on.
After the meal, Yu Sheng got up and cleared the table. Qin Song said, "Didn't you say that you have all the servants?"
He brought four servants from Southern Chu. According to Yu Sheng, he should have already replenished the four servants. Why did Yu Sheng have to do these things himself?
Yu Sheng's expression froze. Han Pu was full. He hung on the chair lazily like a boss and said with a smile, "He didn't dare to let them in. He was afraid that you would be angry."
Qin Song didn't think that he would be angry because of a few servants. But when he saw the real person, his expression changed. He suppressed his anger and asked, "Is it the same for the second prince and Qiu Yun?"
"Yes." Yu Sheng lowered his head and said, "These people were all selected from the Qin palace."
"His Highness didn't say anything?"
The entire hostage residence was served by the eunuchs and palace maids sent by the Qin palace. Did they really think that the hostage residence was Ying Zheng's mistress?
"The Second Prince resigned, but the officials who came said that they didn't dare to neglect the Second Prince's status as a prince, so they sent these people to make the Second Prince feel at home. So, the Second Prince didn't say anything."
"Send these four back to the Qin palace. Tell them that Qin Song isn't a prince. They don't dare to overstep their boundaries. Tell them to take these people back. " Qin Song smiled bitterly. This hostage residence belonged to Yi An. Since he had accepted it, what else could he do? He said, "Also, go ask Qiu Yun if she wants to send the people around him back as well."
Yu Sheng agreed and hurriedly left with his men.
Qin Song turned to Han Pu and frowned, "What are you playing at now?" He said that he would look for him later, and he really did come looking for him.
"I'm not playing!" Han Pu looked like he had suffered a blow and said, "I'm serious!"
Qin Song said coldly, "I've already sworn that I won't try to assassinate Ying Zheng. So if you want to use my identity to assassinate him, I won't agree."
Han Pu waved his hand indifferently and said, "Don't worry, I won't kill him!"
"Hmm?"
If Han Pu was the person he knew, then he remembered that this number one assassin of Korea had already tried to assassinate Ying Zheng more than ten times. He had been seriously injured several times and narrowly escaped death, but he still hadn't changed his mind. How could he stop so easily?
"You might not believe me, but I'm not interested in killing Ying Zheng!" Han Pu sighed and said, "It's all because of my master. He couldn't forget about the destruction of his country. Before he died, he forced me to swear that I would make the King Of Qin stain Qing Feng with blood. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to close his eyes even in the underworld. Now, Qing Feng has already been stabbed into Ying Zheng's chest. Although I didn't do it with my own hands, I still made the oath. Why would I still want to kill the King Of Qin? "
"Don't you hate the destruction of your country?"
"What do I hate?" Han Pu poured a cup of tea for himself and drank a big mouthful. He spread out on the chair in satisfaction and said, "The destruction of my country should be hated by those high-ranking officials and nobles. Why should I hate it? I was born as a tenant farmer. My family rented dozens of acres of land. My parents and several brothers were as tired as dogs every day, but they couldn't even fill their stomachs. I was sold to my master. Rather than saying that he wanted to sell me for a little money, it was better to say that he was afraid that I would starve to death because of my young age, so he found a way to make a living for me. "
He sighed and continued, "Even so, it's good to be able to live a peaceful life like this! But there were constant wars! Wars! Wars! If we weren't attacked by others, we would be attacking others! Several of my brothers were pulled into the army one after another. One less today, one less tomorrow … Just like this, Korea was still destroyed. "
"Korea 1 was destroyed, the king lost his throne, and the officials lost their official positions … But what does that have to do with us ordinary people? Even the people who come to collect rent every year are still the same people! On the contrary, because there were no wars in these few years, my youngest brother survived. Now, his child is already three years old … "Han Pu asked," Tell me, why did I kill Ying Zheng? "
Qin Song laughed bitterly. He raised the teacup in his hand and made a toast to him. He said, "That makes sense."
He drank it in one gulp.
Han Pu immediately beamed and said, "You are indeed different from others. In this world, you are probably the only one who doesn't think that I am crazy. Back then, I said the same thing to my master. In the end, I was chased by him for three days and three nights and was almost beaten to death by him … That was still considered good. In the following months, he constantly nagged me about loyalty and patriotism. He nagged me when I was practicing martial arts, when I was eating, and even when I was outside the toilet … I almost went crazy from his nagging. Even in my dreams, I talked about killing Ying Zheng before he let me go. Now that I think about it, it was really like a nightmare. It was really too scary. "
He shivered with lingering fear and sighed again. "But now, even if I want someone to nag in my ear, I can't."
Qin Song was silent.
However, Han Pu was depressed for a moment and became spirited again. He said with a smile, "Now that I don't have to kill Ying Zheng, it's quite boring. Previously, I was thinking about rescuing you, but now that you are out on your own, I have nothing to do. After thinking about it, I might as well follow you. You see, first of all, I have to repay you for saving my life, right? Secondly, Ying Zheng's defense is getting tighter and tighter. If it weren't for you, I might never have been able to make him bleed. Then in this lifetime, I will keep on assassinating, assassinating, assassinating. If I fail once, I will die! Don't you think life is so boring? So I, Han Pu, am living for Ying Zheng! So to me, this is much more important than saving my life. Moreover, you have a good temper with me, so I might as well sell it to you! "
Qin Song said indifferently, "But you don't want to kill the King Of Qin, but I still want to kill him!"
Han Pu said in surprise, "Why do you still want to kill him? He didn't treat you well before, but didn't he let you go now? Even if there is a great enmity between you and him, you stabbed him in the chest like that, and he survived because he was lucky. Besides, he actually treated you well, and he couldn't bear to kill you … Listen to my advice, don't waste your good life on killing Ying Zheng, it's not worth it. "
"I am from Chu," Qin Song looked at Han Pu and said indifferently, "I am from a landowning household."
He leaned lazily against the back of the chair, his expression cold. "Anyone with some knowledge in this world knows that if the world is united, the common people will be spared from the suffering of war. But since ancient times, there have only been those who used this as a pretext to start wars and fight for the world, and no one has given up everything for this reason … I, Qin Song, am naturally no exception. "
"Alright, alright!" Han Pu waved his hand and said, "You don't have to make yourself out to be so bad. Back then, when the Kingdom of Han was destroyed, I saw it with my own eyes. Not to mention someone who looks like you, even someone who is slightly fairer and prettier can die quickly. Don't worry, with me here, I won't let anyone bully you! "
Qin Song was speechless, and finally said helplessly, "If you want to follow me, then follow me! When you get tired of playing and are unhappy, just leave. "
Han Pu didn't show any loyalty, and said with a smile, "That's good!"
He stretched and said, "I'm going to take a bath and change my clothes, and also get some clothes for that silly boy — when I fought with him before, I felt that the boy's moves were sinister and ruthless, and thought that he was a fierce character, but I didn't expect him to be such a silly boy! Other than fighting, he doesn't know anything else, and he's so honest that it's embarrassing to bully him. "
Qin Song couldn't help but roll his eyes at him: You're just embarrassed to bully him, old man. If you were, how arrogant would you be?
"You fought with Yu Sheng before, aren't you afraid that he will recognize you?"
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