Chapter 36: Li Shiwu's Conspiracy

Jiang Wan remained expressionless upon hearing this. She thought to herself that she had never held Li Shiwu in high regard; from the very moment Zhao Mang rescued her, she had already secured her own escape route.

However, she had not anticipated that Li Shiwu would act with such audacity.

Jiang Wan looked at Li Shiwu calmly. "So, I am merely a bargaining chip between you and the Jiang family?"

Li Shiwu was slightly taken aback by her words. He withdrew his hand, which had been stroking hers, and remarked, "As expected of the eldest lady who has held power in the Jiang family for so many years—you see things with such clarity."

He paced back and forth a few times before speaking slowly, "But since you are capable of such insight, why did you reject me back then?"

Jiang Wan’s expression did not change. She understood Li Shiwu all too well; he was a man of volatile temperament, especially averse to being opposed. He was short-tempered without even realizing it and always felt that those around him were at odds with him.

Seeing that Jiang Wan remained silent, Li Shiwu suddenly felt bored. Although he was somewhat deranged, he was not entirely lawless. He had not harbored any malicious intentions toward the two women over the past two days, but that did not mean he would stay that way. Perhaps out of sheer boredom, he decided to use these two women for target practice.

"Guards! Move these two to the shooting range, and fetch me a couple of apples!"

Just then, a soldier burst into the tent. "Bad news, Commander! A border soldier has arrived at the gates, claiming he has an appointment with you!"

"We didn't let him in, but he relied on his brute strength to push over the gate and force his way through!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shiwu laughed heartily. "Good! Good! I was wondering how the Zhang family could have failed against him—so he does have some skill after all!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Mang followed the soldier inside. He swept his gaze across the camp, his eyes locking onto Jiang Wan with machine-like precision. Both women were tied to wooden crosses, their clothes still intact. Zhao Mang breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, Li Shiwu had not acted with the same depravity toward Jiang Wan as Zhang Mo had. After all, Jiang Wan was his woman now, and he did not want a repeat of what happened with Zhang Mo.

Seeing that Jiang Wan and Wang Shuang were unharmed, he turned his attention to Li Shiwu in the center of the tent. From a distance, the man appeared burly with an ordinary, square-shaped face that looked rather comical. Compared to Zhao Mang, he was far inferior; it was no wonder Jiang Wan had chosen Zhao Mang.

Zhao Mang spoke coldly, "Are you Li Shiwu?"

"You went to such lengths to lure me here—what exactly do you want?"

Li Shiwu did not answer immediately. Instead, he walked slowly toward Zhao Mang, scrutinizing him closely as he circled him.

"So, you are that famous Zhao Mang from the border troops?" he said slowly. "You don't look like anything special. What did you rely on to kill so many Tubo thieves?"

At this, Li Shiwu seemed to grow interested. "Since you’re here to save Jiang Wan, I’ll give you a chance. Beat me, and you can take her away! How about it?"

Zhao Mang did not hesitate. "A duel is fine, but release them first."

Li Shiwu laughed, a flicker of cold light in his eyes as he stared at Zhao Mang. Without turning his head, he shouted, "Guards! Bring these two ladies down!"

With that, he headed toward the training grounds. "Follow me!"

Li Shiwu was extremely confident in his martial arts; he had never lost to anyone in his entire life. Indeed, his prowess was well-known among the border and garrison troops. That fame, however, was decades old, and along with it came his notoriety. It was said that due to chronic migraines, he often killed people in the camp without cause, making his men both fear and adore him.

Once untied, Jiang Wan rushed to Zhao Mang’s side. "Brother Mang… you must be careful. This man is volatile and his skills are exceptional. Do not fall into his trap!"

Zhao Mang paid her warning no mind. Li Shiwu might be skilled and confident, but Zhao Mang was no slouch himself. Having been a practitioner of ancient martial arts for decades in his previous life, he had never lost a one-on-one duel, and with the innate talent of his current body, he feared no one. He felt entirely at home on the battlefield.

Both men were supremely confident.

At the training grounds, Li Shiwu had been waiting for a while when Zhao Mang finally arrived. Jiang Wan and Wang Shuang watched from afar, their faces filled with worry, guarded closely by soldiers to prevent their escape. Unseen by them, a squad of archers lay in ambush nearby.

On the field, Zhao Mang saw Li Shiwu ready himself and assumed a combat stance. "General Li, did you go through all this trouble just to see who is the better fighter?"

Li Shiwu curled his lips into a smile, staying silent. He charged forward without a word, his long blade slashing toward the prepared Zhao Mang.

Zhao Mang reacted instantly, planting his feet and parrying with his own blade. The weapons clashed in mid-air, sparks flying. Li Shiwu was shocked; he had put seventy percent of his strength into that overhead strike, yet Zhao Mang had not budged. Instead, the force left Li Shiwu’s own hand stinging.

After parrying, Zhao Mang countered with a probing strike, his blade sliding upward toward Li Shiwu’s chin. Li Shiwu did not panic; he leaned back to dodge, his body moving backward through the air. Zhao Mang seized the opening, lunging forward with a kick aimed at Li Shiwu's groin.

Li Shiwu had never encountered such a shameless fighting style. He immediately swung his blade down in defense. Zhao Mang retracted his leg, using his blade to block the strike. To regain his balance, Li Shiwu spun in the air and landed some distance away.

His hand trembled as he gripped his sword. "So that's how it is! I didn't expect you to have such immense strength."

Zhao Mang said nothing and charged again. After a few exchanges, both men gauged each other's strength. Zhao Mang thought to himself that Li Shiwu was not as formidable as rumors suggested. Li Shiwu, however, was stunned—Zhao Mang was indeed skilled, especially with that terrifying strength that had already left his hands shaking. He realized that if the fight continued, he might lose his grip on his weapon entirely.

Facing exhaustion, he dropped the facade of a master and began to laugh, showering Zhao Mang with praise. "Good! Good! Good! Little brother, you truly have remarkable talent!"

Zhao Mang did not lower his guard at the sudden praise. As Jiang Wan had said, this man was volatile; there was surely a reason for this change in tone.

Sure enough, Li Shiwu’s next words were infuriating.

"You are so impressive that I find myself feeling a sense of pity. Why not join my ranks? If you agree, I will bestow Jiang Wan upon you and guarantee you wealth and status."