With Ope Ope no Mi in Hunter x Hunter

"A carriage without tires is truly uncomfortable. I can't believe they can sit so steadily," Daniel Davis muttered as he left the envoy's carriage. Inside, compared to the composed Ying Zheng and the upright Li Si, Daniel felt discomfort after sitting for a while and decided to step outside.

Unlike Li Si, who was quite restrained in front of Ying Zheng, Daniel had much more freedom. Although Li Si was very courteous to Daniel, not knowing his true identity, Daniel could still detect a hint of hostility in Li Si's hidden expression, similar to the animosity he held toward Han Fei. Li Si likely saw Daniel as a potential competitor.

Unlike Han Fei, who was born into nobility, Li Si was a commoner. To climb the ranks, he was willing to risk everything, including his life. Upon arriving in Xianyang, the first person he sought out was Lü Buwei, which says a lot about his character. It was a move that could have easily led to his death at Lü Buwei's hands.

After meeting Ying Zheng in Korea, Li Si immediately abandoned Lü Buwei, fully pledging his loyalty to Ying Zheng, using Lü Buwei as a stepping stone. Li Si was exactly the kind of politician Wei Zhuang described—someone who viewed others as mere stepping stones and obstacles.

Given this, it's no surprise that Li Si harbored animosity toward his senior brother Han Fei, let alone someone like Daniel who had suddenly appeared on the scene.

Daniel, however, didn't care about Li Si's hostility. He was currently learning how to ride a horse under Gai Nie's guidance. In the modern world, most people don't know how to ride a horse, just like Stark, who owned several expensive horses but couldn't ride any of them. For him, keeping horses was just following a trend.

Even when Daniel gave him a Pegasus, he kept it as a pet and only rode it occasionally.

Horse riding isn't as simple as just sitting in the saddle. Even the average person would know that true horse riding requires skill and training. In the Confucian Six Arts, "Yu" (御) refers to learning horse riding and driving techniques.

This driving technique, of course, refers to chariot driving, which is far more challenging than driving a car.

Daniel's inability to ride a horse puzzled Gai Nie, Ying Zheng, and Li Si. In this era, educated people generally knew how to ride horses. After all, without cars, traveling across the world meant riding horses—walking wasn't a feasible option.

Daniel didn't bother explaining this, letting them speculate as they wished.

As they traveled, Ying Zheng occasionally questioned Li Si about the state of Qin and the Six Kingdoms. Li Si responded fluently each time. As the future Prime Minister of the Qin Empire, Li Si was undoubtedly talented and had been preparing for such opportunities all along. Meeting Ying Zheng was the perfect chance for him to showcase his abilities.

Like Han Fei, Li Si was a staunch supporter of Legalism. His words and arguments continuously earned Ying Zheng's approval, the highest form of validation for Li Si.

Throughout the journey, Daniel didn't engage much with Ying Zheng. While Li Si needed Ying Zheng to secure his power, Daniel did not.

"Who goes there?" After the group crossed the Korean border into Qin territory, they soon encountered a scouting team of five Qin soldiers.

The borders between two countries are often rife with conflict, and clashes between scouts are common. Although the King of Han was cowardly before Qin, both sides didn't back down when it came to scout skirmishes—where the brave prevail.

If Korea were to yield even in these scout battles, there would be no reason for Korea to exist.

This was why Ying Zheng's group didn't take the official road, leading them to encounter the scouts. With Li Si's status, there would have been no problem taking the official road, but Ying Zheng couldn't afford to do so. The elimination of Ba Linglong and Hei Bai Xuan Jian was just the beginning. The fact that Ying Zheng left Qin with only Gai Nie presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for certain individuals.

As the saying goes, "While the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind." Even the most deeply hidden mastermind made a move this time. While Ying Zheng didn't know of this mastermind's existence, he knew the return journey would be fraught with danger, hence the decision to take the smaller roads.

Upon encountering the five scouts, Li Si dismounted, holding the envoy's staff. Seeing the staff, the five scouts immediately knelt in respect. When they noticed Li Si saluting the carriage, they quickly deduced that the person inside was the King of Qin. These scouts were indeed perceptive.

The group then followed the five scouts to the camp of the Pyongyang Heavy Armored Army stationed at the Wusui border in Qin. Along the way, Gai Nie explained to Ying Zheng the accomplishments of the Pyongyang Heavy Armored Army and subtly warned him that something seemed off.

Though Gai Nie's official role was as Ying Zheng's bodyguard, he was well-informed about the situations across Qin. Years ago, Gai Nie had traveled through most of Qin to assess the state of the country, leading him to choose Qin as his allegiance.

Although not as renowned as the Golden Fire Cavalry, the Hundred Battles Armored Soldiers, or the Tenglong Legion, the Pyongyang Heavy Armored Army was not weak by any means. If it came to a fight, they would certainly not be inferior to the Hundred Battles Armored Soldiers, as this unit once belonged to Bai Qi's command.

Gai Nie's warning to Ying Zheng stemmed from the fact that the Pyongyang Heavy Armored Army shouldn't have been stationed at the Wusui border. Qin wasn't ready to wage war against Korea, and hastily moving such a battle-hardened unit to this area would be unwise. This unit was usually stationed in the strategic Taoyuan Prefecture, facing Zhao.

Although the Battle of Changping dealt a severe blow to Zhao, over the years, Zhao had gradually regained some of its strength. Moreover, with a general like Li Mu, Zhao posed a greater threat to Qin than Korea did. At least Zhao still dared to provoke Qin with its army, something Korea wouldn't dare to do.

Additionally, the fact that such a unit was redeployed without Ying Zheng's prior knowledge spoke volumes about the situation.

"It's truly impressive," Daniel remarked, watching hundreds of heavily armored soldiers wearing black masks as they practiced with their long spears in unison. This was a sight he could never witness in modern society.

Compared to the Korean soldiers, this unit exuded a deadly aura.

In Wang Yi's command tent, a flash of sword light resulted in a scout clutching his throat and collapsing in pain. Another flash, and soon, the five scouts who had brought Ying Zheng were all lying in a pool of blood.

After killing the five scouts, Wang Yi knelt before Ying Zheng to ask for forgiveness, explaining that it was all to prevent the leaking of Ying Zheng's whereabouts and was done out of necessity.

Faced with such a situation, Ying Zheng, despite his grim expression, had no choice but to accept Wang Yi's explanation and temporarily disguised himself as Li Si's attendant.

"Wang Yi." Back in the temporary tent, the previously composed Ying Zheng now spoke these words with seething anger before sitting down with a gloomy expression. Gai Nie and Li Si remained silent.

Daniel, however, didn't stay still like the others. Instead, he walked over to a nearby rack, picked up a bamboo slip, and began reading it.

Gai Nie didn't react at all to Daniel's behavior, but Li Si's eyes flickered with something unspoken.

After a moment, Ying Zheng regained his composure and took out a scroll, preparing to write an edict, following Wang Yi's earlier suggestion to summon someone he trusted from Xianyang to escort him back. However, as he was about to write, Ying Zheng hesitated, realizing that there wasn't anyone in Xianyang he truly trusted.

In the end, though, he still wrote the edict, as it wouldn't do to be unable to produce an edict in front of Wang Yi.

Despite having ascended to the throne, Ying Zheng's power as King of Qin was still limited. Internally, he was constrained by the Queen Dowager's regency, and externally, he was pressured by Lü Buwei's dominance. Ying Zheng's current situation wasn't much better than Han Fei's.

"Lord Changping?" Catching a glimpse of the name written on the edict, Daniel couldn't help but smirk inwardly.

"Montian is indeed smart. No wonder Wang Yi didn't dare directly use the surrounding Pyongyang Heavy Armored Soldiers to kill Ying Zheng," Daniel mused upon Montian's appearance. He immediately understood why Wang Yi hesitated to act directly against Ying Zheng.

Qin's military system was vastly different from that of the Six States of Shandong. Since Shang Yang's reforms, the position of Grand General, who controlled all the state's troops, was abolished, replaced by multiple General positions.

Concentrating all military power in the hands of a Grand General was a recipe for disaster. In this era, even though rituals and music were falling apart, there was still immense respect for royal authority. Even someone like Ji Wuye, who wanted to kill Han Fei, didn't dare to recklessly mobilize the people of the night to take action.

If this was the norm in the Six States, it was even more so in Qin, where military power was more centralized. If Wang Yi dared to order the Pyongyang Heavy Armored Soldiers to attack Ying Zheng, and Ying Zheng revealed his identity, it would be unclear whose orders the soldiers would follow. Especially with Montian present, Wang Yi had reason to hesitate. The Meng family was a flagbearer in the Qin military, and their loyalty to the throne was unquestionable. Although Ying Zheng's power had not been fully consolidated, the support of the Meng family was crucial.

If Ying Zheng identified himself, Montian would undoubtedly stand by him. And with Gai Nie at his side as a living symbol of his legitimacy, there would be no doubt about Ying Zheng's authenticity.

"Threatening Li Si and acquiring Chengjiao's jade ring—Wang Yi really went to great lengths, but he underestimated Li Si," Daniel thought as he observed Wang Yi's actions from the shadows.

Li Si was the type of person who, if the reward was great enough, would take the risk. Like when he played the coin game with Han Fei—despite having the upper hand, he lost because he was always seeking a greater gain. Right now, Ying Zheng represented that greater gain.

This time, Li Si gambled and won. But in the future, he would gamble again and lose everything.

"Describing me as someone who caught Ying Zheng's attention through clever tricks… does he really think that?" Daniel mused when he overheard Wang Yi questioning Li Si about his identity. Li Si had given Daniel such a label, likely to divert Wang Yi's attention from him. While this might reflect Li Si's true thoughts, it also effectively worked to Daniel's advantage. Wang Yi was aware of Daniel's glass trade but didn't know about his role in killing Ji Wuye—something even Li Si was unaware of.

As time passed, Wang Yi could no longer suppress his urge to act. He attempted to execute a plan to separate Gai Nie from Ying Zheng, but it failed. Soon, they all met at the command platform.

Wang Yi began laying a verbal trap for Montian. In this era, the crime of assassinating the king was the most severe, and once Montian was implicated, the entire Meng family would be doomed.

"Attack!" Wang Yi gave the signal by smashing his cup, and his hidden soldiers immediately sprang into action. The well-prepared troops quickly restrained Gai Nie with iron chains. Simultaneously, dozens of crossbowmen emerged from the watchtowers surrounding the command platform, and a volley of arrows was fired at Ying Zheng from four directions.

At the same time, more than a dozen of Wang Yi's elite soldiers leaped out from the sides of the platform, charging toward Ying Zheng and his entourage with reckless abandon.

"Be careful!" Montian also sprang into action, first rescuing the restrained Gai Nie by handing him his sword, then rushing toward Ying Zheng, intending to shield him from the incoming arrows with his own body.

Daniel didn't intervene. This was Montian's opportunity to prove himself in front of Ying Zheng. Daniel didn't need it, but Montian and Li Si did.

Montian displayed impressive martial skills, sweeping away the arrows aimed at Ying Zheng with his spear. However, while focusing on protecting Ying Zheng, Montian couldn't defend himself, and three arrows pierced his armor. Fortunately, his armor and helmet were of high quality, so the injuries were only minor.

"Annoying," Daniel muttered as he watched the crossbowmen on the watchtowers prepare for a second volley. Before Gai Nie could react, Daniel flicked several copper coins from his hand. The next moment, all the soldiers in the watchtowers had holes the size of coins in their foreheads and collapsed where they stood.

Afterward, Daniel stepped back and let the others handle the situation. Li Si, armed with a dagger, stood protectively in front of Ying Zheng, while Gai Nie fought off the remaining elite soldiers, and Montian engaged Wang Yi in battle.

Despite his aged appearance, Wang Yi was a formidable warrior, even slightly superior to Montian. Montian struggled against him, but just as Wang Yi's large axe was about to strike, Daniel flicked another copper coin, deflecting the axe. Seizing the opportunity, Montian thrust his spear into Wang Yi's heart.

Meanwhile, Gai Nie showcased his unparalleled swordsmanship, effortlessly dispatching the remaining soldiers, including Wang Yi's highly skilled captain.

After the battle, the situation was quickly resolved. With Montian in command, along with the envoy Li Si and the renowned Gai Nie, Ying Zheng's group swiftly took control of the Pyongyang Heavy Armored Army.

"Wang Yi was loyal, seeking to avenge Bai Qi. But how exactly did Bai Qi die? Was it really just the peasant families boasting, or did Qin deliberately cover up the truth?" Daniel pondered. The assassination of a Grand General would be a major scandal, one that could never be allowed to leak. Just like Ji Wuye, who was killed by Daniel—yet the official story in Korea was that he died of exhaustion due to overwork.

Would people believe that? Of course, some would. Even in the modern era of knowledge explosions, there are still people who believe nonsense, let alone in this era.

Wang Yi's motive for trying to kill Ying Zheng was rooted in his past as Bai Qi's deputy.

With this failed assassination, Wang Yi paid the ultimate price. His own death was expected, but the real cost would be the execution of his three families. The law of implicating families, while inhumane by modern standards, was a norm in this era. Even Han Fei's followers, the Quicksand, did not oppose this law.

In addition to the three families, Wang Yi's former recommenders, sponsors, and evaluators also faced repercussions. A bloodbath was inevitable. Unfortunately, Daniel had no say in the matter. In this world, he had to adapt to the local customs. What modern society would call barbaric was standard in this era, and it wasn't something he could change alone.

And this was only the beginning. In later generations, the law would expand to include nine, even ten families.

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