"Brother Ye," Zhang Liang broke Ye Xiu's reverie with a single sentence. "I truly owe you my life this time, and if I can ever repay it, I will do so with all my might."

"Enough talk of that, get some proper rest. A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years." Ye Xiu felt that explaining things to Zhang Liang was one of the proudest achievements of his life; participating in the grand assassination attempt on Qin together had already filled him with a sense of accomplishment.

"Brother Ye!" To Ye Xiu’s surprise, Zhang Liang slowly moved closer, taking Ye Xiu’s hand with deep affection, his face beaming with happiness.

Ye Xiu was already somewhat agitated, but seeing Zhang Liang’s strikingly beautiful face sent a fresh wave of dread down his spine. Embarrassed, he hastily shook off the hand and exclaimed loudly, "That's enough! You rest first. I'm going into the city to gather some news and maybe find something to eat. You wait for me here, and if anything happens, hide first before anything else."

"Brother Ye." Zhang Liang’s expression conveyed a thousand unspoken words, and the sheer intensity of his bromantic fervor frightened Ye Xiu into a swift escape.

"Damn it! We just cooperated once, did he have to look at me like he was offering his entire being?" Ye Xiu shivered, goosebumps rising all over him. "Zhang Liang is fine in every way, except he’s gay. I absolutely must keep my distance from him going forward."

A long while later, Ye Xiu reached the gates of a city. Two characters were prominently displayed on the gate: Xiapi. This city seemed quite famous.

"Xiapi!" Ye Xiu was intimately familiar with this place. How many moving tales of heroism had unfolded here in history? The famous stories of Cao Cao flooding the city, Lu Bu's execution, and Guan Yu's surrender to Han all took place here. Moreover, in the near future, this very place would become the capital of King Chu, Han Xin.

He slowly peered through the gaps between people and realized the notice posted above was a wanted poster. Although the description was rather exaggerated, a man possessing such soft and refined features could only be Zhang Liang, Zhang Zifang.

Ye Xiu inwardly sighed at the unfairness. He had clearly participated in the assassination attempt on Qin too, yet the pursuing soldiers were foolish to the extreme, only managing to clearly discern Zhang Liang’s appearance, leaving Ye Xiu with no reputation whatsoever.

But where there's a will, there's a way; there would always be a solution. So, with his sword still slung over his shoulder, he wandered through the streets. Suddenly, he collided with a burly brute around a corner near a back alley.

"Damn it!" Ye Xiu immediately cursed, "Can't you see the road? Dare to block my path!"

The brute, hearing Ye Xiu’s arrogance, promptly lifted him entirely off the ground and casually gestured for his seven or eight brothers behind him to join in. "Kid, do you know who I am? I'm the notorious overlord of this street. If you cross me, you're done for."

"I’m not afraid of you," Ye Xiu sneered, making no other moves. "So, you're a local thug? I don't have anything valuable on me. What do you want me to do?"

"Hmph!" The brute glanced at Ye Xiu—tattered clothes and a broken wooden sword suggested he wasn't rich. He casually tossed out a command: "Crawl under my crotch, and we’ll call it even for today."

"Crawl? Are you serious! You should be the one crawling under me!" Ye Xiu never expected this ruffian to demand so much; naturally, anger flared within him. He simply used a casual open-hand technique to push the brute away.

The brute had assumed Ye Xiu was useless, but when he realized the fellow knew some martial arts, a hint of caution entered his heart.

"What about it! I think you lot are itching for a beating. I happen to be penniless and hungry; why don't you brothers fetch me something to eat!" Ye Xiu was never known for being overly benevolent. Fights were a daily occurrence during his school days, and now that he was practically invincible, he had no need to fear these small-time lackeys.

"Brothers, attack!" The brute gave the order, striking a pose that was almost too perfect, yet not a single one dared approach Ye Xiu.

"Then don't blame me for being impolite." Ye Xiu had already suppressed his frustration over Zhang Liang’s bromance long enough; this was the perfect outlet. He charged straight forward, a left punch, a right kick, followed by a spinning double kick that took down four men. As he turned to press the advantage against the brute, the brute surprisingly raised his hands obsequiously, begging for mercy.

"Esteemed sir, esteemed sir, we can talk this out," the brute said, quickly stuffing the silver he had onto his person into Ye Xiu’s clothes, whispering, "This money is my apology to you, sir. I hope the great one does not hold a grudge against a petty man."

"We're not fighting anymore?" Ye Xiu hadn't even warmed up his muscles before being stopped, which genuinely annoyed him, though he couldn't fathom what the brute was thinking.

"Sir, I beg one favor of you: switch clothes with my younger brother here, and have him impersonate you while crawling under my—"

"What are you talking about?" Ye Xiu looked completely bewildered.

The brute leaned closer again. "Sir, look, many people upstairs are watching. I am considered a local authority here, and if I lose face here today, I won't have a foothold tomorrow. I beg you..."

"Damn it, is that so! Very well!" Ye Xiu decided to give him ample face. He found a younger brother wearing relatively new clothes and switched outfits with him near the alley.

The younger brother looked deeply wronged: "Boss, I just bought these clothes."

"You bastard, hurry up and crawl!" The brute regained his swagger, watching smugly as his subordinate crawled underneath, adding, "I haven't met anyone in this street who dared defy me yet."

"Dying for pride—a classic case," Ye Xiu sighed quietly, lamenting the low morals of the age, but since he hadn't suffered much loss and even gained money, he could use it to buy food and return to Zhang Liang.

After eating his fill, Zhang Liang had regained his usual composed demeanor. Through these recent events, he developed an inexpressible emotion toward Ye Xiu—an emotion Ye Xiu recognized as bromance, though Zhang Liang lacked such rich vocabulary.

"Oh right, Brother Ye, the concealed weapon you used that day was truly remarkable. I heard you call it '2B.' How is it made? I'd like to learn as well." Zhang Liang was clearly still preoccupied with the assassination attempt, which had been quite spectacular.

"Yes, that concealed weapon is called 2B." Ye Xiu almost burst out laughing. He remembered that 2B was originally used to describe the most foolish people imaginable, yet here it was, transformed into a lethal projectile by Zhang Liang. Truly, a brilliant strategist, with such precise insight.

"It’s a pity it didn't strike the First Emperor's carriage; otherwise, we would have been immortalized," Zhang Liang lamented. "I really shouldn't have touched your hand at that moment."

"Oh, alright, alright!" Ye Xiu couldn't stand hearing those "what ifs," "if onlys," and "otherwises." He cut Zhang Liang off abruptly. "What do we do next? Every major city has a warrant out for you; we can't enter any towns."

Zhang Liang looked up at the rafters, calculated something in his head, and spoke slowly, "Brother Ye, I think you should not stay with me anymore; that way, you will be safe."

"Nonsense, am I that kind of person?" Ye Xiu refused with absolute firmness, yet in that moment of resolve, he thought he glimpsed a strange light flickering in Zhang Liang's eyes—damn it, more bromance!

"Staying hidden here isn't a solution either. This should be Xiapi. We can head toward the wilderness; it’s sparsely populated there and absolutely safe." Zhang Liang indeed displayed the air of a great general, having already thought of their retreat route.

"No time to lose, let's go!" Ye Xiu declared, hefting his pack, and left the ruined temple first, with Zhang Liang following closely behind.

Along the way, there were many mountains and rivers. Ye Xiu found it dreadfully boring, while Zhang Liang seemed utterly content.

"Where is this place?" Ye Xiu had no recollection of these nameless locations.

"It should be Xiaqiu!"

"Xiaqiu!" Hearing Zhang Liang say this, Ye Xiu suddenly turned to look at him, thinking carefully. Historical records stated that after the assassination attempt on Qin, Zhang Liang went into hiding under an assumed name exactly in Xiapi, and it was in Xiaqiu that he would meet Huang Shigong, who would bestow upon him the Art of War of Taigong. Looking at it this way, history was proving remarkably accurate.

"Brother Ye, look quickly, there is a stone bridge ahead." Zhang Liang seemed fascinated by the ancient structure and moved ahead of Ye Xiu, intending to ascend the bridge.

Ye Xiu followed his gaze. Before them was not just a stone bridge, but an old man standing upon it. Ye Xiu’s heart skipped a beat; it felt exactly like playing an RPG, and he sighed inwardly, "The plot is arriving."

Zhang Liang slowly stepped onto the bridge, intending to admire the scenery, when the old man, clad in rough cloth, deliberately flung his shoe off the bridge, saying to Zhang Liang, "Boy, go fetch the old man's shoe."

"This…" Zhang Liang clearly saw the elder toss it himself; retrieving it now was unjustifiable by any standard. "Old man, stop making trouble and extorting people."

"Boy, go fetch the old man's shoe." The old man stared fixedly at Zhang Liang and repeated the same command.

"I apologize, but I am unable to do so. I absolutely will not perform such a base task." Zhang Liang assumed the country elder was simply bored and trying to trick him, and he turned to leave.

At that moment, Ye Xiu suddenly rushed forward, ran under the bridge to retrieve the shoe, and handed it to the elder, saying deferentially, "Please, Elder."

Zhang Liang found this extremely strange. "Brother Ye, why are you doing this? He is clearly trying to cause trouble for no reason. Don't give this old man the satisfaction."

Ye Xiu nodded at Zhang Liang, signaling him to remain silent, while internally cursing the bookish scholar. If you don't seize this opportunity now, you’ll never become truly formidable.

"Put it on for the old man," the elder's attitude grew increasingly rude; he even lifted his foot toward Zhang Liang and Ye Xiu.

"I must say, don't push your luck too far, old man." Zhang Liang genuinely wanted to punch the fellow, but Ye Xiu stopped him again.

Ye Xiu crouched down, slowly helping the old man put his shoe on, and then performed a polite bow.

"Ah, good," the elder’s face finally broke into a smile. He said slowly, "Wait for me here in five days."

Ye Xiu nodded in agreement, pulling Zhang Liang along to nod as well. Excitement surged through him once more; everything was too dramatic. This old fellow was indeed Huang Shigong.

The elder turned and walked away leisurely, disappearing unnoticed into the enchanting darkness of the night.