During the Qin Dynasty, he brought chaos to the seven kingdoms.

Chapter 43 Snow Maiden's Allure

August has already brought autumn, but the weather is still hot.

But as they headed north to the State of Yan, the weather grew increasingly cool.

Since Jingni personally settled the little girl, Cao Yuan has been driving the donkey cart that Li Wu found for more than half a month.

At first, assassins from the Luo Wang organization tried to sneak up, but Jing Ni dealt with them.

Afterwards, with the alliance imminent and war about to break out, the road was quiet, and apart from some ragged refugees, no one else could be seen.

A large donkey cart traveled slowly along the official road.

Autumn should be a season of harvest, but the fields along the road are barren.

Every village bears the marks of war, with broken tiles and dilapidated houses, and few people living there.

Not far away, a little boy who looked to be seven or eight years old, or perhaps a teenager, was picking at something he didn't recognize in front of a tree, taking a bite every now and then, making a rather comical gesture.

Cao Yuan sat on the carriage and tossed a small bag of rations far away, which landed right next to the little boy a dozen meters away.

After doing all this, he showed no joy, but instead let out a soft sigh.

I wonder how many days this meager ration will keep this skinny but bloated child alive.

At times, he even had malicious thoughts.

Should he harden his heart, become a villain, and help these suffering people find relief?

But his reason told him that this was not possible, as it could easily get out of control.

Being born as a human being is truly difficult.

"What are you sighing about?"

Li Wu lifted the carriage curtain, sat down next to Cao Yuan, and leisurely swung her long legs, gazing at the horizon where the sky and earth met in the distance, feeling very relaxed.

Compared to the darkness and despair she endured in the Luo Wang organization, she now feels that every day she spends, even if she does nothing, is worthwhile.

"The suffering of the people..."

After Cao Yuan said it, he felt incredibly hypocritical.

He's a greedy, lustful guy who loves beautiful women, hates hardship, loves to enjoy life, and even wants to be a superior person, yet he said such things.

It really seems a bit ridiculous.

Li Wu tilted her head slightly and glanced at the abandoned village not far away, and the villagers lying between the ridges of the fields, their fates unknown.

"This is not bad. You don't know, when I was on a mission, I saw some villages where there was almost no living person, and there were many human bones with delicate bones on the ground..."

Li Wu described it vividly.

"Stop, stop, stop," Cao Yuan said, looking annoyed. "Can you please stop talking?"

The bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no cock crowing for thousands of miles.

For him, it was just an ordinary line of poetry in a textbook, which didn't move him at all when he read it back then.

But now...

Li Wu blinked her watery eyes and said softly, "Are you very sad?"

Cao Yuan felt a slight tingling in his nose.

"kind of."

Li Wu opened her jade-like arms and gently pressed Cao Yuan's head against her broad, voluptuous chest, whispering tenderly, "Be good, I believe you can be a good official in the future."

Under the gentle caresses, Cao Yuan felt much better.

He looked up at Li Wu, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and asked, "Li Wu, if you knew that in the future someone would unify the world and end the chaos, but he was very likely to become a tyrant, oppressing the people and squeezing every last drop of their wealth to satisfy his grand ambitions, do you think... you would help him?"

Li Wu thought about it seriously.

"Isn't this just another person oppressing the people of the seven kingdoms? Why help him? You might as well go home and farm."

Cao Yuan couldn't help but chuckle, "It's definitely better to go back home and farm."

He had been thinking about this for more than half a month.

Only when you realize that you are at a critical juncture in history can you understand how difficult and stressful the choices are.

He kept thinking, even if he helped Ying Zheng unify the country, what difference would it make?

Even if the ironclad rule of "it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature" is broken, what difference would it make if Ying Zheng showed compassion for the people and allowed them to recuperate?

Could he make Ying Zheng betray his own class and give up all power?

How can we get all the vested interests to willingly give up their spoils of victory?

If he wants to change everything and end the known cycle of history and the succession of feudal dynasties.

The real challenge then is not how to unify the seven kingdoms.

It's not about how to change Ying Zheng and prevent him from becoming a tyrant.

Instead, what stood in his way was a mountain called "nobility," a class called "bloodline."

Just like the "powerful clans" of later generations, no, they were ten times more stubborn than powerful clans.

"Don't overthink it, cheer up."

Li Wu then gave Cao Yuan another shove, knowing that Cao Yuan liked to bury his head in her chest.

"You said it yourself, there's always a way out. Maybe you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel or come up with a solution someday."

Cao Yuan was both amused and exasperated. He lifted his head, which was buried in Li Wu's chest, and took a breath of fresh air.

Looking into Li Wu's gentle eyes, he couldn't help but say, "I never knew you had this side to you."

Li Wu tapped Cao Yuan's forehead.

"It's all because of you that I've started to 'examine myself three times a day'."

Just as Cao Yuan was about to spend some time with Li Wu, a carriage suddenly came rushing up from behind.

high speed.

Behind the carriage were a dozen or so bandits on horseback, armed with crossbows and wearing tattered armor; they were clearly outlaws who had turned to banditry.

This was common among the seven kingdoms. After years of war, countless soldiers were separated, deserted, or even turned to banditry.

This is a cannibalistic era.

Cao Yuan's good time was interrupted, and coupled with the frustration he had experienced over the past ten days, his anger was immediately aroused.

Lao Tzu said, "Even a horse can stumble."

Cao Yuan leaped into the air, pointing his sword in the direction of the bandits.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

All the horses seemed to be possessed, stumbling and falling to the ground, including the horses pulling the cart; none escaped unscathed, except for Cao Yuan's donkey cart.

A cloud of dust billowed up on the road, and more than a dozen bandits fell to the ground, howling in pain.

Cao Yuan felt better.

It must be said that the first move of the Holy King Sword Technique is very magical; the words are spoken and the technique follows.

As soon as one speaks, the true words of Confucianism can achieve unexpected results.

"Rumble..."

The carriage, which was originally rushing forward, continued to surge forward due to inertia because the horse pulling it stumbled.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A cold, angry voice suddenly rang out.

In a fleeting glance, Cao Yuan realized that the person riding the horse was a woman with long, snow-white hair.

Oh no, I forgot this was an indiscriminate area attack.

Cao Yuan felt a little embarrassed; saving someone seemed to have almost caused them harm.

But this slight awkwardness quickly vanished without a trace.

Because the carriage was coming straight at him.

Confucius said, "Know when to stop."

Cao Yuan channeled his inner strength, pointing his sword at the carriage.

The carriage, propelled by inertia, seemed to have fallen into the sea, and in the blink of an eye, it slid to its knees in front of Cao Yuan.

Cao Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The "Words Become Law" technique is useful, but it consumes too much internal energy. I'll have to be careful about it in future battles.

A white-haired woman in a long dress jumped down from the carriage, her beautiful face still showing signs of shock.

Are you sick?!

The white-haired woman angrily questioned Cao Yuan.

Those beautiful, sky-blue eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

Anyone would be furious if they suddenly lost control of their car at high speed.

What's more, they discovered that someone was behind it!

Even experienced drivers can't stand it.

Cao Yuan was about to explain.

But after seeing the woman's face clearly, he suddenly froze.

Why does this look so much like my childhood goddess?

The goddess's stunning dance on the old-fashioned CRT television screen captivated me throughout my adolescence.

He couldn't forget it even if he wanted to, even though he was no longer the innocent young man he once was.

……