"Tempering Lin Yi?"
Everyone was stunned at first, but understanding quickly dawned. Now that it was put that way, it really was possible.
Northern Liang needed a powerful heir. Otherwise, Great Ning would surely swallow it up after Lin Rusong's death. That was why the Prince of Northern Liang had thought to hone his son.
And they were probably the whetstones for the heir of Northern Liang.
What an elaborate game of chess!
But just what did the Prince of Northern Liang take them for? He clearly didn't regard them at all.
"Fuck! Lin Rusong has gone too far, treating us as whetstones! Isn't he afraid we'll chip his blade?"
"That's right! We're no pushovers either. He actually expects Lin Yi and his thousand men to sweep through Dayu Pass? I refuse to believe he's that strong!"
"We should join forces and form an alliance against Lin Yi, so he can't pick us off one by one."
The crowd bristled with indignation. They were all prominent leaders of Dayu Pass, yet they had been reduced to whetstones for the Prince of Northern Liang to educate his son. How could they accept that?
Even if they couldn't defeat the Prince of Northern Liang, they would still put a nick in his precious blade.
Seeing that he had achieved the effect he wanted, Zhuo Feifan's eyes flashed with delight. He smiled and said, "Since everyone agrees, our alliance ought to have a name, shouldn't it?"
He was delighted. If he then secured the position of alliance leader, he would truly be the king of Xiliang, and even the heir of Northern Liang would be unable to do anything to him.
Hearing this, Duan Yingxiong, who was standing nearby, suddenly understood. So, after all that, the fellow wanted to be the alliance leader.
He glanced at Wang Chengfei, the head of the Wang Clan, who was dozing off beside him, and fell into thought. It seemed the man had no intention of joining the alliance.
A thought occurred to him, and he walked over to Wang Chengfei.
The man was too calm. He looked as though he had a plan in mind, and perhaps he knew something.
"Brother Wang, you don't seem interested in this alliance. Do you have other plans?" Duan Yingxiong asked directly, without beating around the bush.
Wang Chengfei glanced at him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. With a soft chuckle, he said, "What plans could I have? An arm can't twist a thigh. If I can't resist, I'll just keep my head down and behave myself."
Pfft!
Duan Yingxiong couldn't help spraying out a mouthful of wine. This fellow was actually talking about keeping his head down and behaving himself? It was far too incongruous.
"Do you know something?" he couldn't help asking.
Wang Chengfei didn't answer immediately. After a moment's thought, he said gravely, "Have you noticed that some strangers have appeared around here lately, right after the Prince of Northern Liang announced the establishment of Xiliang Commandery?"
"After Xiliang Commandery was established?"
Duan Yingxiong's thoughts raced, and he quickly figured it out. He cried out, "You mean they're the Prince of Northern Liang's men? They never really left, but just sent a different group in their place?"
Hiss!
He swallowed, feeling a chill run through his entire body.
He looked at the people inside, still coming up with names for the alliance. If they knew about this, they would probably piss themselves in fright.
What a move by the Prince of Northern Liang. It was far too ruthless.
Wang Chengfei shook his head, then glanced at Duan Yingxiong and said meaningfully, "They're the heir's men, and their organization is called Net!!!"
Net!
It had appeared not long ago.
Duan Yingxiong's expression changed drastically, and cold sweat began pouring down his face. Those two pieces of information brought many things to mind: the heir had long known what they were doing, because he had already sent people to gather information.
The reason he hadn't acted immediately was probably that it was a trap. This was an invisible net, meant to catch them all in one sweep.
Gulp!
He swallowed. If that were true, then the heir of Northern Liang was far too terrifying.
Just then, Duan Yingxiong's son Duan Yu walked over and said quietly, "Father, this alliance is interesting. Since it's meant to deal with the heir of Northern Liang, and 'heir' sounds like 'lion,' how about calling it the Lion-Slaying Alliance?"
"Lion-Slaying?"
Hearing this, Duan Yingxiong, who was still feeling uneasy, turned green. This little bastard actually wanted to kill the heir.
Slap!
He slapped him across the face and roared, "You fool! Slay your fucking lion!"
"Do you understand what it means to hone a blade?"
"Even after a blade is honed, it's still there, and it's even sharper. But if you make the blade disappear, do you believe the lion's father will bring three hundred thousand men and slaughter us until there isn't a single hair left?"
He was the prince's only son, the sole heir to all of Northern Liang. If he were killed, wouldn't the Prince of Northern Liang go completely mad?
The thought of it made him shudder. If the Prince of Northern Liang went mad, he would probably dig three feet into every inch of Dayu Pass and leave neither chicken nor dog alive.
Never doubt the Prince of Northern Liang. He was the man who had forced back an army of five hundred thousand Northern Region barbarians through sheer slaughter. If he truly went mad, the consequences would be unimaginable.
He had thought only the Prince of Northern Liang was terrifying, but now it seemed that the heir, Lin Yi, was probably no ordinary man either. He was an extremely terrifying figure himself.
He knew full well that they were preparing to join forces, yet he had made no move. It was probably not because he was afraid, but because he wanted to catch them all in one net.
What audacity! No wonder he dared to command Net!
Looking at his son's face, so eager for praise, Duan Yingxiong suddenly felt that his son was simply too stupid. Compared with the heir Lin Yi, the boy was utterly useless. He couldn't help giving his son another slap.
"Useless!"
"What?"
Duan Yu was dumbfounded by the blows. Weren't they forming an alliance? Why was his father hitting him?
As everyone stared in bewilderment, Duan Yingxiong dragged his son away, punching and kicking him as they went, as though he weren't his own flesh and blood.
"What's going on? Has Duan Yingxiong gone mad?"
"Forget it. Leave him be."
Although everyone found it strange, they hadn't heard the conversation between Duan Yingxiong and his son, so they thought no more of it.
Zhuo Feifan's eyes, however, flickered, and he fell into thought.
"An alliance?"
When Lin Yi received the news, a smile flickered in his eyes. These people really were unwilling to accept things as they stood.
But on second thought, it made sense. They were used to living freely and without restraint. How could they tolerate someone else shitting on their heads? They were bound to resist.
"My lord, these people don't know what's good for them. Why not let me go ahead and kill those traitors for you?" Wang Yue held the Heaven-Relying Sword, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he spoke, brimming with killing intent.
His lord was so wise and mighty. Going to a wretched place like Xiliang was meant to save its people, yet these people actually had the gall to resist. They were simply courting death.
Lin Yi waved the folding fan in his hand and smiled. "There's no need to rush to kill them. We're merchants now, so don't cry for blood at every turn. We need to win people over with virtue. That's the real principle!"
"Uh!"
Looking at the ground behind them, strewn with the corpses of bandits, Wang Yue couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth. Why was the heir's way of winning people over with virtue different from everyone else's?
Still, they had encountered no fewer than five groups of robbers along the way, so it was only natural for his lord to be angry.