allendalepharm Chapter 162 Seven Kingdoms Compete for Supremacy
Chapter 162 Seven Kingdoms Compete for Supremacy
He wanted to turn the tide and restore his homeland to its former glory.
He always cherished this ambition, even personally creating quicksand, all to forge a powerful Korea. But when Lin Tian revealed those secrets, his heart sank—the tide had turned, and time was running out!
If he had been born a hundred years earlier, perhaps he could have truly turned the tide! If he had been the King of Han, perhaps he could have truly reversed the course of events!
Han Fei pondered silently, a bitter feeling welling up inside him.
He shook his head, clearing his mind of all his chaotic thoughts, and his gaze returned to Lin Tian—business was important, how could he afford to be distracted?
"King Han is hosting a banquet for his ministers and has specially sent me to invite you," Han Fei said solemnly. "Brother Lin, please bring everyone from Zilan Pavilion to the grand banquet in the palace."
"What's the point?" Lin Tian asked bluntly.
What's the point?
Han Fei felt a slight sweat on his forehead—under the whole world, there was probably no one else who would be personally invited to a banquet by the ruler of a country, and whose first question would be about "benefits".
But no matter how hard he thought about it, he really couldn't answer.
As for the bounty? The debt he owed Lin Tian was already so large that it couldn't even be written in the ledger.
Speaking of beautiful women singing and dancing? Zilan Pavilion is filled with beauties, and Brother Lin has never lacked a smile that could topple cities.
As for delicacies and fine wines? He himself still longed for those few jars of aged wine in Lin Tian's cellar!
After much deliberation, Han Fei decided to drop all pretense and frankly bow, saying, "Brother Lin, please do me a favor—we can't let the court really think I, Han Fei, am all alone, can we?"
"Stop beating around the bush," Lin Tian said with a smirk, seeing right through him. "You just want to use this banquet to show off your team, and let the King of Han see that you, Han Fei, are no longer the talented young master with no one to rely on."
Han Fei was taken aback, then scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly, "As expected, I couldn't hide anything from Brother Lin. You truly are a wise and insightful man!"
Lin Tian hesitated for a moment, his gaze slightly lowered, and then he suddenly spoke: "The path of reviving Korea... you should give up on it as soon as possible. Even if you ascend the throne in the future, it will all be in vain."
Because of his sudden arrival, the plot has already deviated from its course—he will never sit idly by and watch Han Fei repeat his old fate, shedding blood in Xinzheng!
As for the throne of the King of Han? Perhaps a push could be made. But Ying Zheng's march to conquer the six states and unify the world will not stop for anyone.
It's very tricky.
Han Fei did not utter a word, but bowed deeply and said in a low voice, "I earnestly request Brother Lin to take the time to attend the banquet. I, Han Fei, will be deeply grateful."
"Sigh... His stubbornness is giving me a headache. Fine, I'll go then. Those from Zilan Pavilion, would you like to come along?"
"Of course! We were invited together."
The two then discussed the details of entering the palace and decided that Zhang Liang would lead the way and the group into the palace in the afternoon.
With the state banquet approaching, Princess Honglian wanted to stay, but Han Fei half-persuaded and half-dragged her back to the palace. She pouted, her face full of reluctance, but she also knew the importance of the matter—as a princess, she should be sitting upright in the Phoenix Palace; she had already begged and pleaded to sneak out of the palace with Han Fei this morning.
Lin Tian was slightly surprised to see this, but then he thought about it and realized that Hong Lian looked exactly like a cute and innocent little sister.
After seeing Han Fei and Zhang Liang off, Lin Tian climbed the steps and leaped onto the roof ridge. Yan Lingji sat alone on the eaves, her crimson dress blazing like fire, making her snow-white skin glow, quietly gazing at the drifting clouds in the sky.
"You passed the message to Bai Yifei?" Lin Tian asked bluntly.
She turned her head and smiled faintly, her voice trembling like a wind chime: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. Are you angry? I was his spy."
Lin Tian shrugged and smiled: "This is called a double-edged strategy, profiting from both sides, so you don't lose out. Besides, I already knew what was going on the day he sent you here."
"Ha... This is the true demeanor of a master—a true strongman is never afraid of scheming and intrigue. Blood-Clad Marquis may have plotted a thousand ways, but little did he know, I had already chosen my place."
"That's right, at least for now, you're on my side." Lin Tian's tone was calm and unwavering. "Besides—even if you had ten times the courage, you wouldn't do anything stupid."
Yan Lingji knew perfectly well what was so-called "foolish thing" about it.
She covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Tian with a charming gaze: "Then you knew I was sending a message, yet you let it go... What were you after? No matter how arrogant Bai Yifei is, he wouldn't dare to rashly touch you and invite humiliation."
"Black and White Xuanjian." Lin Tian uttered four words, his eyebrows slightly raised. "This person will definitely make a move. With the Eight Exquisite Halberds broken, it's only natural that he would return to Qin—but I'm determined not to let him go. The words 'resurrection' are hotter to him than royal power, more tempting than a blade. He will definitely stay, and... soon, we will be face to face."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail, steady as a rock, and a sharp glint of control flashed in his eyes.
Yan Lingji stared at his figure standing silently in the wind, momentarily lost in thought.
This is the true aura of a king, isn't it?
Seven kingdoms vied for supremacy, and the world was never short of those who sought to become kings and hegemons. Yan Lingji hailed from the Baiyue region, a border tribe, yet she had long been accustomed to the imposing presence and bearing of kings and generals.
But someone like Lin Tian—not a member of the royal family, yet possessing an aura of dominance that seemed to survey the world, whose every move exuded the power of a thousand armies pressing down and the silence of ten thousand blades—was someone she had never encountered before.
Seeing Yan Lingji staring blankly at him, Lin Tian raised his hand and lightly rubbed his cheek, his tone tinged with suspicion: "Is there dust on my face?"
Before he finished speaking, his fingertips had already lightly brushed across his brow bone and cheekbone, as if he really wanted to scrape something off, almost as if he were taking out a bronze mirror to see clearly.
Yan Lingji's eyes flickered slightly, her lips curved into a smile that spread like ripples, and in the blink of her eyes, her fiery sharpness was transformed into three parts gentleness and seven parts coquettishness...
She suddenly asked softly, "You want to take his life?"
"He's just incidental. The one I want to kill is Lü Buwei," Lin Tian answered crisply and without any hesitation—he believed her.
This bluntness caused Yan Lingji to tremble slightly. She hadn't expected that Lin Tian, knowing she was a spy planted by the Blood-Clad Marquis, would still dare to turn his blade outward and his back to her.
Lin Tian was incredibly perceptive; he immediately saw through the surprise and doubt surging in her eyes and said smoothly, "I consider you a friend. Have you ever done anything to betray me? Now that you've chosen your path, I believe you won't turn back. As for the future... you should weigh your options carefully. How many heads and lives do you have? I can slowly chip them away at them, one by one."
"My master is truly heartless, he has no sense of tenderness or compassion whatsoever."
"Uh..." Lin Tian's brow twitched, and he immediately understood—which of the women in "Nine Songs of the Sky" wasn't dancing on the edge of a knife and wrapped in frost? The word "weak" never suited them.
He darted out in a flash, his voice still echoing in the wind: "Get ready, and come with me to the banquet this afternoon. Since you're from Zilan Pavilion, you should sit there."
As the figure vanished, Yan Lingji remained standing in the same spot, gazing absently at the place where he had just stood. She gently bit her lower lip and whispered softly, "What I want has never been just a place in Zilan Pavilion."
Lin Tian strolled to the guest room, stopped in front of a door with a wooden plaque bearing the character "Tian" (天) on it, and knocked twice: "Li Wu, let's go to the banquet this afternoon."
The door opened with a click. Li Wu leaned against the doorframe, dressed in black, her body taut like a bowstring. A strand of black hair fell down her cheek, and the vermilion flower on her brow shone brightly, both chillingly cold and alluringly captivating.