At dawn, a carriage slowly entered Yang City County.
Several brisk men dressed in black silk robes embroidered with silver wolf heads on their shoulders climbed down from the carriage. The man at their head had a gentle face and smiling eyes. He looked deep and elegant, yet somehow inspired an irresistible sense of warmth.
It was none other than Dun Ruo, who had been ordered to investigate Zhao Cheng.
Dun Ruo had proposed and carried out Qin State's strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones. He had once led men into other countries, bribed ministers from every faction with lavish gifts, and persuaded them to obey Qin. He had also stirred up conflict and discord between rival states.
At the same time, Dun Ruo was the leader of the Black Ice Terrace.
He rarely took action, and no one knew how strong he was. Yet every Secret Agent of the Black Ice Terrace held him in the highest regard.
"Go to the village where Zhao Cheng lives and investigate his life. I'll take a look at the County Court."
"Yes."
The Secret Agents scattered in an instant, while Dun Ruo strolled into the County Court.
When the guards tried to stop him, he simply handed them a few copper coins and exchanged a few casual words. He quickly won their trust, convincing them that he was an old friend of the county magistrate. They let him walk right in.
Dun Ruo sauntered into the County Court. Without making a sound, he came to stand beside the magistrate, who was handling official documents.
The magistrate didn't notice him at all. As he frowned in thought, he suddenly sensed someone beside him tidying the incense burner.
"Didn't I tell you, when I'm handling official business, don't—"
He was about to scold them, but when he turned his head, he saw a middle-aged man with a kindly face standing there. He couldn't help staring in astonishment.
"Y-you... who are you?!"
Dun Ruo finished tidying the incense burner with unhurried movements. His meticulousness carried an elegance that put people at ease.
"Lord Wang, there's no need to be alarmed. I've come here on the king's orders to investigate someone."
He spoke quietly, yet somehow inspired complete trust. His sincerity made it seem as though he would never deceive anyone.
"So the king has issued an order. Whom do you wish to investigate?" The magistrate suddenly froze. "...Wait, how can you prove that you were sent by the king?"
Dun Ruo took a black-ice token from his robes. "The Black Ice Terrace. Surely Lord Wang has heard of it?"
The magistrate looked bewildered.
The Black Ice Terrace was highly secretive. He had heard a few rumors, but he didn't recognize the token. Still, there was something about this man that made him reluctant to doubt him.
Just then, Meng Wei stepped into the room. "So it's Lord Dun Ruo. Forgive me for not welcoming you sooner."
Dun Ruo immediately smiled. "Meng Wei, good thing you're here. You've saved me the trouble of proving who I am."
Meng Wei smiled wryly. "With your abilities, what trouble could you possibly have? The fact that you're willing to prove your identity is already a sign of respect for us."
Dun Ruo shook his head. "You flatter me. This is a Qin county administration. How could I take what isn't mine without asking?"
Meng Wei asked, "Whom have you come to investigate?"
"You've probably heard of him. His name is Zhao Cheng. He's a new recruit who joined the army for this year's campaign against Han. He distinguished himself at Fang City Pass and caught the king's attention. The king ordered me to investigate his background."
Meng Wei had already guessed as much, but hearing Zhao Cheng's name still startled him. Then delight swept over him, and he felt proud for Zhao Cheng.
"I said that boy had a bright future ahead of him. Come, come, Lord Dun Ruo, have a seat. Let me tell you about him."
Seeing how Meng Wei beamed with a touch of pride, Dun Ruo grew interested as well. He sat down and listened.
"The boy is gifted beyond measure, tall and heroic. The moment he reported to the County Court, he stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens."
"When we tested his strength, he was astonishing. He could lift a twelve-stone weight with one hand. He was born with the strength of a god!"
"...In just over a month, he mastered both riding and archery. At two hundred paces, he could shoot birds on the wing from a galloping horse. He could fire three arrows from one bow, and never missed!"
"He just eats too much. He can put away as much as dozens of men in one meal. In little more than a month, he nearly ate the County Court out of house and home..."
As Meng Wei recounted the stories, Dun Ruo nodded again and again, deeply astonished.
In a little over a month, the boy had trained his riding and archery to such a level.
Many people could spend their entire lives trying and never reach that standard.
The boy truly was a born general.
"Would it be possible for me to see his records?"
Now that they had confirmed Dun Ruo's identity, there was no reason to refuse.
The magistrate immediately had someone bring Zhao Cheng's Household Register Bamboo Slip and other documents.
Dun Ruo read through them in silence, as if the lines of text let him glimpse the course of Zhao Cheng's life over the past sixteen years.
As he continued to read, a report suddenly arrived from outside, carried at a gallop.
"Report!"
"Our army has captured Ye County and defeated thirty thousand enemy troops. The general requests reinforcements and supplies to garrison Ye County."
Once the front captured a city, reinforcements were sent to hold it and secure the rear. Only then could the army keep pressing forward and seizing more territory.
"Ye County has already fallen? That fast?"
Meng Wei hurried over to the messenger and took the dispatch he had carried along the way. He glanced at it and was stunned.
"Cut off the water, trap the isolated city..."
"...Chief Commandant Zhao Cheng slipped into Ye County, sowed chaos behind enemy lines, and burned the Government Office. Surrounded by four thousand troops, he slew more than two thousand. Then he infiltrated the city wall, killed the enemy general and seized the city, opened the gates, and slew over three thousand more??"
"Th-this is real?"
Even though Meng Wei had complete faith in Zhao Cheng, the report was still hard to believe.
The messenger raised his chin proudly. "How could it be fake? The whole army can testify!"
"When Lord Chief Commandant killed the enemy general on the wall, we were right below him and saw it with our own eyes. He was like a god descending from heaven, like divine troops appearing out of nowhere—one slash!"
"The Han Army commander's head came right off. Then Lord Chief Commandant—no, we should call him General Zhao now—held the Han general's head and swept across the wall, cutting down a thousand enemies."
"You should have seen it. The enemy troops were sent flying everywhere, like rain falling from the sky. Down below, our comrades only had to swing their blades once to claim a kill!"
"I'm only sorry I wasn't down below at the time. I didn't get any of the military merit from the general's kills..."
As he spoke, the messenger looked deeply regretful.
"If the general hadn't shared his military merit with the men, he'd have even more to his name!"
The messenger's reverence and fervor for Zhao Cheng shone through in every word.
Listening to him, Meng Wei felt proud too. He clapped the messenger on the shoulder and handed him a pot of tea.
"Have a drink and wet your throat first."
"You probably don't know this, but before General Zhao went off to fight Han, he trained under me. I gave him that Ebony Bow of his."
The messenger's eyes lit up. His esteem for Meng Wei rose right alongside it. "So you gave him the Yama Order! You're truly a man of vision!"
Now it was Meng Wu's turn to be surprised. "The Yama Order?"
The messenger grinned. "Oh, that's what we named the general's bow. It was a fine bow to begin with, and the general draws it to its full extent with every shot. As soon as the bowstring sings, one enemy dies—sometimes several. If that's not a Yama Order, what is?"
Meng Wei clasped his hands together in admiration. "What a name! The Yama Order indeed."
"..."
The two of them chatted with great enthusiasm.
Dun Ruo watched the messenger's fervor and marveled at Zhao Cheng's standing in the army.
At the same time, he could hardly believe it. Just how strong did a man have to be to accomplish so much in a single battle?
More than five thousand enemies slain?
Even if the soldiers stood still and let someone kill them, it would take half a day to get through five thousand people.
Was this fellow made of iron? Couldn't he be wounded?
Dun Ruo tapped his fingers on the documents, his gaze suddenly settling on the words "known as Little Iron Man" in the village records.
He suddenly smiled.
Heaven's mandate truly favored Qin.
Just as the king was preparing to march east and destroy the Six Kingdoms, a young divine general like this had appeared in the army.
Given time, who could withstand his edge?
But the more exceptional Zhao Cheng was, the more carefully Dun Ruo needed to investigate him. He had to make sure Zhao Cheng had a clean background and could be trusted.
Otherwise, with the boy serving Qin, he would be a godsend.
But if he turned traitor, he would become a grave threat!
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Dun Ruo flipped through the documents. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as it landed on a line.
"His father is unknown. Suspected to be a noble who settled in Huaiyang Village and fathered a child with a commoner woman, Zhang Yun."
Dun Ruo pondered for a moment. Then his brows lifted, the smile vanishing from his face as shock flashed through his eyes.
"Zhao Cheng... noble... sixteen years old... Huaiyang Village..."
"Hiss..."
His brow furrowed deeper and deeper. A possibility struck his heart like a thunderclap.
"If I remember correctly, when the king first ascended the throne, he was once ambushed in Sanchuan Commandery..."
Even Ying Zheng himself didn't know that Dun Ruo had learned of these secrets.
After all, every trace of what had happened back then had long since been wiped away.
But after years of gathering intelligence and piecing together reports from all sides, Dun Ruo had already deduced many things that seemed to be missing from the record.
Now, as that possibility occurred to him, Dun Ruo tensed from head to toe in an instant.
He hadn't been this nervous in years.
Because he seemed to have learned something he wasn't supposed to know.
Unless the king wanted him to know, he absolutely could not let on that he was aware of it—not even by the slightest trace.
"What a deadly piece of news..."
Dun Ruo rubbed his brow. "If this is true, we have to bury it completely. Otherwise the king could have a little trouble, but I'd be in serious trouble."
"This boy is so fearsome. Give him time, and he'll surely earn a fief as a marquis through military merit. When that day comes, even if he has no royal blood, with his rank and standing in the army, which royal-blooded clan member could measure up to him..."
Then another thought struck him, and Dun Ruo suddenly wanted to meet the boy.
Better to get on his good side now than anything else.
At that thought, Dun Ruo rose at once, hurried out of the county administration, and gave an order to a subordinate waiting outside.
"Go to Huaiyang Village at once. Tell them to stop investigating. I'll investigate this myself!"
Before you continue