"Very well, there is still some time before the appointed hour, so we might as well start planning." Ye Xiu was curious about many things; historical accounts of this period varied, and now he had a perfect opportunity to learn more from Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang also nodded in agreement, and the three of them casually found a spot by the river to sit down and discuss the grand plan.

"I wonder what brilliant scheme Zi Fang has for assassinating Qin?" Ye Xiu certainly knew the story of Zhang Liang's plot involving the flying metal cone, but he still needed to ask for clarity.

Zhang Liang smiled faintly, shifting his gaze to the giant beside him, and began to recount: "The key to assassinating Qin lies entirely with the giant Mo Ming."

"Hoo..." Ye Xiu took a deep breath and asked, "This giant looks rather simple-minded and doesn't talk much. Where did you find him?"

Zhang Liang looked at Ye Xiu, a hint of pride in his expression: "Ever since the State of Han fell, I have been constantly contemplating a method to assassinate the Emperor. Too many have attempted it throughout history, but they all focused on close-quarters assassination. Considering the Emperor’s legions are composed of elite soldiers and formidable generals, how could a close-range fight ever gain an advantage?"

Ye Xiu nodded, signaling Zhang Liang to continue.

"Since I learned of the Emperor’s planned carriage procession, I conceived the idea of a long-range strike from a thousand meters away." Zhang Liang calculated on his fingers, "The only things powerful enough to smash an entire carriage would be a massive iron hammer, or perhaps a weapon shaped like a cone."

"Indeed, the 'Flying Hammer Assassination of Qin'—truly boundless creativity. Zhang Liang, you are indeed formidable." Ye Xiu was captivated and couldn't help falling back into his old habit of playful banter, "Just how heavy and large would such a weapon need to be to successfully destroy a carriage drawn by six horses?"

"That is precisely the problem. To destroy the carriage, we would need an iron object weighing at least 150 jin, but who possesses the innate divine strength to even throw such an object?"

"I found the answer: the giant Mo Ming!" Ye Xiu stared at Mo Ming, who sat by the river with a dull expression, yet his muscles seemed already fully developed.

Where did Mo Ming come from?

As he reached this point, Zhang Liang's expression grew solemn, as if lost in some recollection.

"I was greatly troubled by my inability to find such a righteous person. However, as if guided by heaven's will, one day I observed the heavens at night, and amidst the strange portents in the firmament, there was a rumor concerning giants." When speaking of heavenly will, Zhang Liang seemed resigned; if everything in the mortal realm was subject to destiny, what was the point of living?

"That was a meteor, what does it have to do with your celestial observations?" Ye Xiu interjected casually, though a wave of disdain washed over him inwardly. Astrological theories were nothing but nonsense under modern science.

Hearing this, Zhang Liang immediately stopped speaking and pressed, "Brother Ye knows the name of that star?"

"Oh, yes." Ye Xiu did not wish to entangle himself further in debates about meteors; these people were truly amusing, insisting on taking the character for 'flow' in 'meteor' () as the name of the star. He was too weary to explain, "How did you find the giants, and where do they reside?"

"Well, to the uttermost east, nothing beyond the East Sea," Zhang Liang gazed at the river surface, his voice steady and undisturbed as he spoke. "By the shores of the East Sea, I encountered an elder named Lord Canghai."

"The Elder Lord Canghai." Ye Xiu had a certain affinity for the term "elder," immediately recalling the old man who had gifted him the '2B' on his birthday.

Zhang Liang continued his recollection: "Lord Canghai appeared extremely aged. He promised to bring such a righteous person in two days—the Mo Ming we see now."

"Old Cang!" Ye Xiu began to find it somewhat unbelievable. The mysterious old man he had met also wore a cloak. Could these two elders be connected? But then he thought, the man who gave him the '2B' was in the modern era, while Lord Canghai was in the Qin Dynasty; the chance of them being the same person was minuscule.

"I, too, doubted his identity. Perhaps he was just an ordinary Daoist practitioner, or maybe even an immortal? Anything is possible?" Zhang Liang sighed, turning his gaze toward Mo Ming. "I only cared about this righteous man. Yes, he is Mo Ming. Only he can throw the 150-jin heavy iron cone over a long distance. That is truly impressive."

"Did you ask Mo Ming what kind of person Lord Canghai really is?" Ye Xiu, ever meticulous and suspicious, was naturally full of curiosity about Lord Canghai.

"Speaking of that makes me irritated," Zhang Liang shook his head while smiling wryly. "Of course, I asked, but he couldn't understand my words, so there was nothing I could do."

Ye Xiu was speechless and could only look at the giant Mo Ming faintly. He remained motionless by the riverbank, unknowable thoughts swirling in his mind, and his capabilities utterly unknown—just a complete simpleton.

The light gradually dimmed as time passed. Zhang Liang stood up slowly and said, "It is getting late, Brother Ye. How do you think we should deploy our forces?"

Ye Xiu considered that he, too, could participate in the assassination of the King of Qin, an endeavor comparable to Jing Ke’s. Naturally, he was somewhat excited: "Your strategy is already extremely brilliant. With my ambush from the trees as well, perhaps I can succeed."

"Please elaborate."

Ye Xiu frowned and asked, "I wonder where Zi Fang's 150-jin heavy iron cone is located now?"

"Heh heh, Brother Ye must be confused," Zhang Liang smiled confidently. That object was naturally already placed on the hilltop 100 meters from the Bolangsha Road; it had been transported under the cover of darkness.

Ye Xiu nodded, deeply impressed by Zhang Liang's meticulousness. Reflecting on the people he had met these past few days, such as Xiang Yu and Zhang Liang, they indeed possessed vastly different characters—Xiang Yu's rugged heroism versus Zhang Liang's detailed strategizing. This era was becoming increasingly fascinating.

"Then let us depart and set up our ambush early," Ye Xiu had lost interest in the riverside scenery. However, historically, Zhang Liang had failed, so he wondered if his involvement would also be futile.

"Brother Ye, wait a moment." Zhang Liang looked at Ye Xiu with an expressionless face. "Brother Ye is privy to my affairs; should I not also learn a few things about you?"

"Oh?" Ye Xiu turned around and made a gesture indicating he was ready to listen.

Zhang Liang clapped his hands together, pointing first to himself and then to Mo Ming, asking, "By what means did Brother Ye discern that we two were about to undertake something that would shake the heavens? Did you see it at a glance?"

"To tell the truth, I also possess knowledge of the Eight Trigrams and stellar observation," Ye Xiu genuinely wanted to recount his story of traversing time and space, but he knew no one would ever believe such a tale. If he told it, he might very well drive the great strategist Zhang Liang insane, possibly jeopardizing Liu Bang's eventual unification of the realm. "Observing the heavens the night before last, I merely sensed a major upheaval would occur today at Bolangsha. That is all."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang was filled with sudden admiration and quickly bowed, "I did not realize Brother Ye was also a man of the Dao. We are kindred spirits!"

"Not at all; it is my honor to have met you," Ye Xiu said with firm certainty, knowing that history was inevitable.

"Brother Ye is too kind. Since we met today and found kinship, why don't we become sworn brothers?" Zhang Liang performed a steady bow; there could be no truer gentlemanly bond.

As the two were exchanging pleasantries and mutual compliments, they suddenly heard a loud splash. Zhang Liang turned to see a heavy disturbance of water on the river surface, like a boulder hitting the depths.

"Damn it!" Ye Xiu cursed and rushed toward the water's edge. "This Mo Ming thing fell into the river! What the hell!"

"What?" Zhang Liang also rushed over anxiously. It turned out that Mo Ming, neglected by the two of them, had started playing in the water like a child out of boredom.

Unfortunately, Zhang Liang hadn't taught him how to call for help, and moreover, the giant was too heavy; once submerged, he sank directly like a massive ship. What a pity.

"What do we do now?" Zhang Liang couldn't swim either, and could only watch Mo Ming sink. This was truly a case of sighing by the water's edge.

Ye Xiu felt the event was far too sudden. He hadn't expected the legendary hero of immense strength to perish in this small river. People from the East Sea who couldn't swim—this was too ridiculous.

The water surface gradually settled. The mighty giant Mo Ming, who had traveled from the shores of the East Sea, was ended by a mere stream.

"Alas." Zhang Liang knelt on the ground in deep remorse. He wasn't grieving the loss of a single life, but rather the shelving of the assassination plan now that Mo Ming was gone; perhaps such an opportunity would never arise again. Truly a disservice to his predecessors.

"What should we do now? The appointed time is drawing near," Ye Xiu was also frantic. Had history taken a deviation?

"Heaven's will, it is all heaven's will." Despite his deep discouragement, Zhang Liang knew the opportunity of the day could not be missed. He stood up and said to Ye Xiu, "Brother Ye, now it is just the two of us left. Even if we die together, our names will live on through the ages."

"En." Ye Xiu pursed his lips and followed Zhang Liang toward Bolangsha. He felt neither of them would die; although history had changed with the giant's death, with his own help, fate seemed to have predestined this turn of events.

High up on the mountain, the ancient road of Bolangsha lay completely visible below—the scenery was indeed quite nice.

Ye Xiu had finally seen the massive iron hammer hidden on the hillside as he wished—it was truly a shockingly large hammer, a 150-jin beast that Ye Xiu certainly couldn't lift alone.

"Alas," Zhang Liang also sighed at the sight of the hammer. Perhaps the two of them could lift it together with great effort, but how could they throw it?

"No way around it. I'll just go and set up my ambush among the trees by the road, and we'll see what happens," Ye Xiu was very confident in his assassination sword skills. However, just as he prepared to leap down alone, his hand was firmly seized by Zhang Liang, who then proceeded to stroke it tenderly.

Zhang Liang gazed at Ye Xiu, his eyes brimming with tears. A thousand words were contained in one heartfelt cry: "Brother Ye, what are we to do?"

A chill ran through Ye Xiu's heart. Zhang Liang's countenance was naturally exquisite, and in that teary, shimmering glance, he looked genuinely heartbreaking. Observing Zhang Liang's expression of pain, as if about to lose a beloved relative, Ye Xiu wondered if the legendary Zhang Liang was perhaps gay!

The hell if he was going to engage in a thousand-year bromance, Ye Xiu quickly withdrew his hand. Just as he was about to jump down the slope, he spotted a large contingent of men rapidly approaching their position.