Chapter 194: Broadening Cao Kun’s Horizons
Yun Ce deeply understood the feeling of being suppressed by another creature. Back then, he was targeted by a dragon for seven full days, and during those seven days, Yun Ce felt that life was worse than death.
Afterwards, Yun Ce reflected on it and concluded that the most crushing thing for a person is fear. As for some people saying that extreme fear leads to overcoming fear.
He did not believe this statement; the people who said it must have never experienced true fear.
When people reach the extreme of fear, they either go mad or die; there is no other path. He, Yun Ce, was actually the latter. When he increased the car’s speed to 160 mph, he had actually given up on living.
This Yu Sang still put a lot of pressure on him, but it couldn’t compare to the dragon’s might. Yun Ce felt he should be able to escape.
He could escape, but he couldn’t let this Yu Sang find him, otherwise, this guy would definitely go to the Yun Clan Villa to vent his anger.
Legends say that Huo Qubing killed twenty thousand people by himself in a great battle against the Gui Fang. Although these are legends, Yun Ce was very certain that if this Yu Sang really wanted to kill people, given enough time, he could definitely kill all forty thousand women and children in the Yun Clan Villa.
Therefore, Yun Ce had to get far away from the Yun Clan Villa within the one day he had bought himself, so as not to implicate those who had no power to resist.
From Cao Kun, he learned that radioactive material affects the human body for two days, and visible problems appear on the third day. A week, considering the duration Yu Sang was in close contact with the radioactive source, he was dead for sure.
Yun Ce felt that as long as the radioactive source showed visible reactions on Yu Sang’s body, he should be safe. In other words, he had to ensure he wasn’t killed by Yu Sang within these three days.
Although he didn’t know how Yu Sang found him, Yun Ce still prepared himself based on the premise that Yu Sang would definitely find him.
Yujin Pass, where Cao Kun was located, was a good place. Not only were there many people there, but there were also many experts. Cao Clan’s old butler, Zheng Tianshou, was a very remarkable person. Yun Ce wanted to see if Old Zheng could create a good escape environment for him.
Two hours later, Yun Ce arrived at Yujin Pass. He didn’t look for Cao Kun but instead found a guesthouse in Yujin Pass. After a hearty meal, he quickly fell asleep.
Doggy was very busy. He was more worried about dying than Yun Ce. He poured all the internal breath he possessed into Yun Ce’s body, including the essence drawn from several Gui Fang Hundred-man Generals.
Doggy used tentacles to hold the Shehuo and directly scorch the illusory Dragon Arm. Yun Ce was in pain, but he was in a sleep state, so only the Yun Ce in the dream was in pain.
In the past, Yun Ce would not have used such a self-abusive method of anesthesia. Now, he had no choice. Even if it was a last-ditch effort, Yun Ce did not want to miss any possibility of increasing his combat power.
In the evening, Yun Ce woke up. Although he had slept for a long time, he felt as if he hadn’t slept for three days and three nights.
Just as the guesthouse shop assistant brought the dinner, Cao Kun arrived. He sat opposite Yun Ce and swept away the meal the shop assistant had just served.
“What, you’ve come to my place, and I don’t have food for you?”
Yun Ce raised his head and looked at Cao Kun tiredly, saying, “Run quickly, there’s danger. The Gui Fang have sent assassins to kill me.”
Cao Kun laughed heartily, “Here, in Yujin Pass?”
Yun Ce nodded, “After I’ve eaten, I’m ready to keep running.”
Cao Kun smiled, “No need. I’ll take you to a good place to eat.”
After saying that, he dragged Yun Ce out of the guesthouse.
Along the way, Yun Ce kept looking up at the sky. Cao Kun saw this, called Cao Ling, gave a few instructions, and then pulled Yun Ce into the tallest pavilion in Yujin Pass.
“Want to see the Jade Beauty?”
Yun Ce shook his head, “Seeing my wife is enough.”
Cao Kun laughed heartily, “Your wife’s body is for later. For now, look at other things.”
Yun Ce asked in confusion, “Why look later?”
Cao Kun said, “If you look too much now, you’ll eventually get tired of it. There are still dozens or hundreds of years ahead. Will you not look at her then?
You also know that once you marry a wife, you can’t change her. You have to stay with her honestly for a lifetime. If you sleep with her and see her too much, and later you don’t look or sleep with her, beware of domestic discord.
So, you have to use your own wife sparingly. This way, you can have a long and peaceful life at home.”
Yun Ce felt that Cao Kun’s words seemed a bit off, but considering that this guy was a native noble, what he said was likely from the heart.
Following Cao Kun into the pavilion, he found that it was quite crowded with guests today. As soon as they entered, the nobles and scions of nobility present all stood up and saluted Cao Kun. As for Yun Ce, he was just accompanying him.
Cao Kun patted Yun Ce’s shoulder and said to the nobles present, “Don’t underestimate him. If you underestimate him today, even if you want to befriend him in the future, you won’t be able to.”
The nobles all responded enthusiastically to Cao Kun’s words. Especially a few scions of nobility who had been to the Yun Clan Manor before stepped forward to clasp arms with Yun Ce in camaraderie.
Yun Ce had to force himself to appease them, suppressing his drowsiness.
The Great Han people practice communal dining, with each person having their own low table. Yun Ce, whose energy had been completely depleted in his sleep, could no longer resist the sight of the colorful dishes on the low table. With chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other, he ate with great gusto, ignoring the dancers twirling in the middle of the hall with pipas, their buttocks exposed.
Cao Kun, sitting next to Yun Ce, asked in confusion, “How long has it been since you last ate?”
Yun Ce swallowed a large mouthful of rice and whispered, “Ever since I was chased by someone named Yu Sang, I haven’t eaten a single bite of food.”
“Yu Sang? Gui Fang?”
Yun Ce said while eating, “Yu Sang, Gui Fang, riding an eagle.”
Cao Kun looked confused. It seemed he didn’t know who this Yu Sang was. However, he glanced at Cao Ling, who was standing guard beside him, and Cao Ling quickly left.
“Is that person very powerful?”
Yun Ce held up his spoon and said, “He’s more powerful than an adult elephant pig. After midnight, he’ll come to chase and kill me.”
Hearing Yun Ce’s analogy, Cao Kun laughed at those present and said, “After midnight, a Gui Fang assassin will come to this place to kill. I wonder if any of my brothers here have any outstanding experts. If so, please call them here. As long as the Gui Fang assassin is eliminated.”
“Brother Yun is willing to gift the entire book of The Art of War. I wonder which brother would be interested in obtaining this peerless military strategy?”
Seeing Cao Kun say this, Yun Ce pretended to reach into his pocket, but instead, he took out a beautifully bound copy of The Art of War from the Dragon Pearl and placed it on Cao Kun’s table.
Cao Kun picked up The Art of War and flipped through it before smiling and saying, “See clearly, this is not the The Art of War fabricated by that person, but the original from the ancestral land.”
He thought that as soon as Cao Kun spoke, the nobles and scions of nobility here would follow suit, but it seemed that was not the case. As long as someone was related to the nobility, none of them were stupid.
Before Cao Kun presented enough temptation, no one was willing to let their warriors fight with an assassin from the Gui Fang. A Gui Fang assassin who dared to appear in front of people, especially Han people, must be extremely difficult to deal with.
Especially for Yun Ce, a famously poor and fallen person from north of the Great Wall, it was not worth the effort to make a move.
However, after everyone personally verified that copy of The Art of War, their expressions changed. Even if this book could not immediately produce a peerless famous general, keeping it at home would be considered a significant asset. Moreover, it could be copied and exchanged with others for good things.
By the time Yun Ce finally finished eating, there were more than twenty burly warriors standing outside the pavilion. Yun Ce looked at them one by one and sighed in his heart, “They are all show and no substance.”
Doggy said, “I’ve already sawed through the floorboards beneath your buttocks. When things go wrong, push hard with your buttocks, and you can fall from the third floor to the second. Then break through the second-floor floorboards. Don’t land. Fly towards the window on the left. After crashing through the window, the Red Date Horse will be waiting for you there.”
“Doing this can buy you twenty seconds of escape time.”
Yun Ce said, “I actually quite want to have a fight with that old guy.”
Doggy said, “Don’t be impulsive. Even with me, you can’t beat him. If someone like Yu Sang were on Earth, you’d have to kneel and call him a celestial being.”
“Among these people, there are three experts at the Hundred-man General level. If I get the chance, I will absorb their internal breath and store it for you.”
After finishing his meal, Yun Ce rested his head on the lap of a voluptuous beauty and fell asleep. In just a moment, he began to snore lightly.
Cao Kun smiled knowingly at this and ignored Yun Ce, dedicating his attention to the energetic song and dance performance.
It was unclear how much time had passed when a chill descended from the sky. Yun Ce slowly opened his eyes, pressed down on the slightly swaying floorboards with his hand, sat up straight, and stared intently at the entrance.
Cao Kun took a sip of wine and, seeing Yun Ce awake, said with a smile, “It’s coming now? It seems your copy of The Art of War is going to be lost.
Hou Zijian, Brother Hou is determined to have your book. He’s specially invited the old protector from his family. The Gui Fang assassin is surely doomed.”
Yun Ce cupped his fists and saluted Brother Hou, who was sitting opposite him with a smug expression. He then quietly said to Cao Kun, “Have you thought of a route to escape?”
Cao Kun was stunned for a moment and asked, “Why?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Kun saw Cao Ling rushing in like a horse with an arrow in its butt. Before entering the hall, he forced a calm demeanor and approached Cao Kun, whispering in his ear, “Old Uncle said – run.”
Cao Kun’s face instantly turned ashen. He turned his head with difficulty to look at Yun Ce and asked, “Who is coming?”
Before Yun Ce could answer, a creaking sound of footsteps on the stairs drew everyone’s attention.
Yun Ce watched as Yu Sang’s head slowly rose from the staircase. He suppressed the urge to break through the floorboards right then and there, watching a mountain-like strongman open his arms and embrace Yu Sang.
In the afternoon, a bastard I’ve known for forty years came. He had two small bottles of wine in his pocket, half a jin of pig’s head meat in his hand, and a box of fried peanuts. He said I’ve been having a hard time lately and specifically came to reward me. He said he’d only have two ounces, and after drinking it, he would leave.
I thought it would only take half an hour and agreed. As a result, after drinking the two ounces, he took out another one. That’s right, this kind of wine is packaged like cigarettes, one carton containing five bottles.
Then, the update time became until now.
