Chapter 299: Touring the States (Part 2)

As Daniel Davis entered Jicheng and turned onto the main street, chaos erupted ahead. The pedestrians on the street began to scatter in panic, rushing to either side, knocking each other down in the process. Even those who fell quickly scrambled back to their feet, desperately trying to get out of the way.

The adults, though panicked, were mostly silent, but the children weren't as composed. Cries of fear echoed from the little ones, only to be quickly muffled by their elders, who covered their mouths.

"Make way for the General! Clear the road!" 

Daniel quickly realized what was happening. Two Yan soldiers in blue armor were riding towards him, driving the crowd away with loud commands. As they advanced, they swung their whips at any civilians who hadn't yet cleared the street.

The people, bloodied from the lashes, could only scramble to the sides, their faces filled with fear as they tried to avoid further punishment. The Yan soldiers on horseback laughed heartily as they continued to swing their whips.

"The General... could it be Yan Yi?" Daniel thought to himself, recognizing the name of Yan's general. But he was surprised to see such arrogance on display. Even Ji Wuye, the infamous general of Han, wasn't this brazen.

Daniel sighed softly as the soldiers approached. With a flick of his finger, he sent a blast of energy towards the whip in one soldier's hand, causing it to veer off course.

Daniel had originally intended to stay out of the matter. After all, this was Yan, and intervening wouldn't solve the deeper issues at hand. The root cause of such behavior lay in the state's governance, and without change at the top, these soldiers' conduct wouldn't change either.

The civilians, beaten and bloodied, didn't even dare to show resistance, their eyes filled only with fear and submission.

But this time, the soldier's whip was aimed at a curious little boy, no more than four or five years old, who was gazing at the soldiers despite being tightly held by his mother, who had covered his mouth to silence him. Daniel, who had decided to ignore the situation, couldn't stand by when a child was involved. If he hadn't seen it, he might have let it go, but since he had, he couldn't just watch and do nothing.

Thanks to Daniel's interference, the whip, which would have struck the boy's right eye, instead cracked harmlessly in the air.

"Who did that? Show yourself!" The Yan soldier, furious at the sudden change in his whip's trajectory, angrily scanned the crowd for the culprit. Unlike the Qin soldiers, who were fully armored and masked, Yan soldiers rarely wore face coverings. As his angry gaze swept over the crowd, the people immediately averted their eyes, too afraid to meet his glare.

"So, no one wants to step forward?" The soldier drew his sword from his waist and swung it at the nearest target, aiming to intimidate the crowd.

"You're asking to die," Daniel muttered, a flash of killing intent in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to cause trouble, but now it seemed unavoidable. With a swipe of his hand, a wooden mask appeared on his face, and in a blur of motion, he appeared in front of the soldier, catching the descending sword between his fingers. With a slight twist, Daniel wrenched the sword from the soldier's grasp, and with the same motion, he sent the man tumbling from his horse.

"You've got some nerve, huh?" The fallen soldier got up, pointing at Daniel and shouting threats, but the next moment, he let out a blood-curdling scream as Daniel severed the pointing hand with the soldier's own sword.

"How dare you!" The other soldier, still on horseback, spurred his mount forward to attack Daniel, but he didn't get far. A red dot appeared on his forehead, and he toppled from his horse, killed by Daniel's flying finger gun.

"Do you know who I am? I serve under General Yan Yi—" The first soldier, clutching his bleeding hand, tried to invoke the name of his superior, but Daniel silenced him by driving the sword into his mouth.

The cold steel silenced the soldier, who froze in terror, unable to move.

"Yan Yi? You think I'd be afraid of that idiot of a general?"

Among the generals of the Six States of Shandong, Yan Yi was undoubtedly the most incompetent. Even Ji Wuye, despicable as he was, had some real skill. Yan Yi, on the other hand, had risen to power purely by sycophancy. If not for Yan Yi's ugliness, Daniel would have suspected some hidden transactions behind his rise.

Daniel even suspected that Han Yu and his adopted son Han Qiancheng had a less than innocent relationship. Among the nobility, some had... peculiar tastes, to put it mildly.

The most famous example was Lord Longyang, whose name became synonymous with a certain preference that many nobles, even kings, indulged in.

"Mmph, mmph," the soldier tried to speak, but with the sword in his mouth, all he could manage were muffled sounds.

As Daniel stood there, facing down the soldier, the surrounding crowd fled in panic. Killing one of Yan Yi's men was no small matter in Yan, and they knew that staying could get them implicated as accomplices when the army arrived.

"They're coming quickly, but I can't kill Yan Yi just yet," Daniel thought as he heard the sound of approaching horses. He shook his head slightly, then plunged the sword deeper into the soldier's mouth, killing him.

Killing Yan Yi would have been easy, but it would only serve to benefit Yan Dan. As the saying goes, "Better an enemy as smart as a god than a friend as dumb as a pig." Yan Yi, alive, was a liability to Yan.

Just look at what Yan Yi did later. He deliberately sent Yan soldiers to their deaths in battle against Qin. Yan Yi's actions made Qin's conquest of Yan much easier.

But just because Daniel couldn't kill him didn't mean he couldn't teach him a lesson.

As Yan Yi's men closed in, Daniel, holding his sword, advanced to meet them.

"An assassin! Protect the General!" The Yan soldiers at the front spotted Daniel first and shouted in alarm, drawing their swords as they charged.

"Pathetic." Daniel shook his head inwardly. Cavalry were most effective when using long weapons. Typically, they carried such weapons with them, but none of Yan Yi's men did. They didn't even have crossbows.

Such personal guards were an embarrassment. But for someone like Yan Yi, this was typical. He had risen through the ranks by flattery, so it was only natural that his men were chosen for their flattery rather than their skills.

For Yan Yi to be made a general, the king of Yan, though often deemed mediocre, showed his cunning. A general like Yan Yi could never amass power like Ji Wuye, and he was the perfect tool to counterbalance Yan Dan.

Crown Prince Yan Dan was highly regarded in Yan and was the most likely successor to the throne, much like Han Yu in Han. While such a prince was good for the state, he posed a threat to the reigning king, hence Yan Yi's role in keeping Yan Dan in check.

"You know who I am?" Yan Yi's remaining soldiers had been cut down like wheat before Daniel's blade, and those who survived were the ones who fled quickly.

"Of course I know who you are. That's why I'm here. His Highness the Crown Prince says you've been getting too bold lately. This is your warning—next time, it won't just be a warning." Daniel pressed the sword lightly against Yan Yi's neck, leaving a shallow cut.

Even that small wound was enough to nearly scare Yan Yi to death.

"What a disgrace to the title of General," Daniel thought. The generals of the Seven Warring States were all highly skilled warriors—Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Li Mu, Lian Po—all of them were top-tier experts. In contrast, Yan Yi's skills were barely third-rate.

"Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Good."

With that, Daniel lightly tapped his foot, and his figure vanished from sight, reappearing on a nearby rooftop. As his silhouette disappeared, a large group of Yan soldiers arrived.

This was Jicheng, the capital of Yan, and the army's response to an assassination attempt on their general had been swift.

"General, are you alright?"

"Useless, all of you! To the palace!" Yan Yi's eyes flashed with hatred as he clutched his wounded neck. He quickly changed his destination.

For Daniel, not being able to kill Yan Yi was a missed opportunity, but it was the perfect chance to frame Yan Dan. Among the people of this world, Yan Dan was one of those Daniel despised most. Though highly regarded by the people of Yan and even the other Six States, known for his righteousness, Daniel knew him to be a hypocrite, a man who wanted to play both sides.

Yan Dan had tried to coerce the Mohist school into fully supporting Yan, but when the Six-Fingered Black Hero refused, Yan Dan manipulated his wife, Yan Fei, into killing him, then pinned the blame on her, all while maintaining his facade of righteousness.

It was only because he was doomed by the Grand Minister's machinations that his death seemed noble, as he passed all his martial arts skills to Jing Ke's son, Tianming.

"Yan Dan will have a headache now." Daniel knew Yan Yi would go to the Yan king to complain. Although Yan Dan wouldn't be punished without evidence, the incident would undoubtedly cause him trouble for days.

"It's a pity that the Medical School is too closely allied with

 the Mohists. Convincing Nian Duan and Duanmu Rong to go to Qin might be difficult. I wonder if appealing to their desire to spread their medical knowledge would sway Nian Duan."

In this era, the Medical School wasn't highly regarded, but Daniel knew how influential it would become in the future. Just look at modern hospitals and doctors—those were essentially the heirs of the Medical School.

Likewise, the Novelists, actors, and other entertainers would become highly sought after in the future.

If someone like Xue Nu, Nong Yu, or Lian Yi were to appear in the modern world, they would undoubtedly become superstars.

Daniel quickly put the matter of Yan Yi behind him and headed for the Feixue Pavilion. Upon seeing it in person, he realized that it was far more luxurious than the Zilan Xuan, with a much larger area.

The only problem was that the pavilion was now surrounded by Yan soldiers, having been sealed off.

"Xue Nu killed Yan Chun Jun at the Feixue Pavilion. It seems I'm too late."

After asking around, Daniel understood why the pavilion was sealed. Yan Chun Jun, a member of the royal family, had tried to force Xue Nu to submit to him but was killed by her instead, sparking a major crisis.

Yan Chun Jun was no ordinary man; he was the beloved younger brother of the Yan king. His unchecked behavior in Yan stemmed from this royal favor.

Among the Seven Warring States, Yan was unique in that the royal family held significant privileges, unlike in the other states, where royal privileges were much more limited.

Just look at Han, where nobles like King Lun, who lost a bet to the Emerald Tiger, or Longquan Jun and Anping Jun, who were involved in a military fund scandal, were easily executed. Such a thing would be unthinkable in Yan.

Even a powerful general like Yan Yi, for all his arrogance, would immediately grovel before Yan Chun Jun. In any other state, no general would lower themselves like that.

Yan Chun Jun had never imagined that Xue Nu's Lingbo Feiyan dance would be the last thing he saw, and he certainly hadn't expected her to have the courage to kill him, leaving him defenseless.

"Seems I came here for nothing. I'll head to Qi next." Daniel felt a twinge of disappointment, as he had wanted to see Xue Nu's dance. But he had no intention of rescuing her or Gao Jianli. He was here out of curiosity, not to play the hero.

Besides, even if he saved them, they might still become his enemies when Qin eventually conquered the other states. Counting on them to repay him by siding with Qin was unrealistic.

Among the Seven Warring States, Qi was a particularly famous fief, originally granted to the legendary Jiang Ziya, also known as Jiang Shang.

Legend had it that Xibo Hou Jichang carried Jiang Ziya on his back for 800 steps, resulting in the Zhou dynasty's 800-year reign—a significant achievement, considering few later states lasted even 500 years.

Even the World Government in the One Piece world, backed by immense power, had only managed to last 800 years.

But this was just a legend, and Daniel didn't fully believe it. If the legendary progenitor of military strategy and martial arts was really that powerful, the Tian family wouldn't have been able to overthrow the Qi dynasty.

Nevertheless, Jiang Ziya was indeed a legendary figure. His status as the second heir of the Huangshi Tian Shu, with the first being the mythical Yellow Emperor, who received the manual from the Nine Heavens Goddess herself to combat the Soldier Demon God, spoke volumes about his greatness.

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