System: I Can Open Martial Arts Chests

Chapter 330 - 196: Life and Death Chess (Part 2)

As soon as the words were spoken, another person gave him a hard slap across the face.

There was a crisp sound, and the person spun around in place a dozen times.

His feet wobbled, and his head was filled with twinkling stars.

His eyeballs rolled around in their sockets, almost as if they might accidentally pop out.

He struggled to steady them for a long time, but his eyes just wouldn’t obey.

Finally, he gave himself a hard slap, and only then did his eyes return to normal.

He then glared at the person in front of him angrily, but before he could speak, the person said:

"’The Grand Marshal’ has died, we can make another ’Grand Marshal’. What is our job?"

"Soldiers! Responsible for the safety of the ’Grand Marshal’!"

"Exactly, soldiers can ’die’, but the ’Grand Marshal’ must live. As long as this battle meets the Prince’s requirements, we two may not necessarily die."

"Hmm... What do you mean?"

"I’m saying your head is getting stuck. It’s just..."

The person opposite him wanted to clarify, but felt that the complicated details were easy to think about in his own head, yet somewhat hard to explain.

He simply gave him another slap:

"You’re not bright, so don’t pry into smart people’s matters."

"You hit me again!"

The person became furious, wanting to lunge at him and fight it out.

The person on the opposite side leisurely said:

"Do you want to die or live?"

"I want to live!"

The hand that was about to come down paused mid-air.

"Then listen to me. You go find ’the Physique’, and have him make a face. We are going to wear this face to become ’the Marshal’!"

"Oh!!!"

The person finally realized, but after exhaling a breath, he became confused again:

"And then?"

"Then, we continue fighting against the Iron Blood Hall!"

The somewhat smarter person said:

"As long as the ’Grand Marshal’ ’doesn’t die’, we can still offer the Prince what he wants.

"In the end, even if the truth is different, deception in warfare is bottomless in intent, so why adhere to established rules?

"Throughout history, there have been countless who have usurped the throne wearing the yellow robe!

"We two are just one of them."

"Enough, I don’t understand!"

The person on the opposite side decisively gave up, shaking his head:

"Go find the Physique, right? I’m going now!"

"Be careful."

The smart soldier said with a frown:

"It always feels like someone is secretly watching us, maybe the Prince?"

"Don’t dare speak nonsense!"

The less smart soldier’s face turned pale with fright, but his feet didn’t hesitate, with a flash, he disappeared from the main hall.

Just moments later, when he reappeared.

He had returned, carrying a corpulent, well-fed cook on his shoulder.

The cook blinked his eyes in a daze, first seeing two soldiers and looking disinterested, then looking at the beheaded Beitang Lie, gaping in shock.

"It’s over, it’s over, the Marshal is gone!?"

Turning his head towards the two soldiers:

"You are dead, I’m going to dig a pit, let the three of us lie together, you two are thin, don’t mind me being fat, three people squeezing together shouldn’t be a problem."

The smart soldier still wanted to slap him.

But the fat man anticipated it, dodging quickly, causing the slap to land on the other soldier’s face again.

The soldier was almost getting used to it, rubbing his face:

"Don’t talk yet, listen to him, I don’t understand, see if you can understand?

"If we can understand it, maybe we all get to live."

The cook looked puzzled at the smart soldier opposite:

"You say it."

Then the smart soldier began to explain it all over again.

Finally, the less smart soldier and the chubby Physique looked at each other.

They could see the bewilderment in each other’s eyes.

Ultimately, it was the smart soldier who was desperate, he said:

"No more explanations, it’s exhausting, just make a face of Beitang Lie, okay?"

"Alright!"

The chubby Physique nodded directly, holding his cleaver, he came to Beitang Lie’s corpse, with a swipe of the cleaver, the clothes were split open, revealing his bare chest.

Even though Beitang Lie was old, his physique was still extraordinary.

The chubby Physique swept the cleaver across his chest, and when he retrieved it, there was a sheet of human skin on the blade.

He fiddled with the human skin with his plump hands for a while, and when he moved back, it was surprisingly an old face.

"Alright, here’s the face, but his hair and beard are gone, can’t fake a beard, make do with it?"

"Sure."

The smart soldier took the face and stuck it directly onto his own without a second thought.

"Let me help you."

The chubby Physique stepped forward, twisted his cleaver, and made a cut on each side around the smart soldier’s face.

Fresh blood gushed out and melded with the human skin, then the chubby Physique pressed his palm onto the smart soldier’s face.

When he removed his hand, the smart soldier in front had already transformed into the likeness of Beitang Lie.

The wounds previously cut by the chubby Physique disappeared, the two faces fitting seamlessly.

He was just lacking hair and a beard.

The chubby Physique pondered for a moment, feeling it still wasn’t right, patted the less smart soldier, and had him take him out.

Upon returning, he unknowingly procured a bunch of graying hair.

After fussing over the smart soldier’s face, the hair and beard were indistinguishable from Beitang Lie’s.

"Perfect, so lifelike!"

The smart soldier nodded repeatedly.

"Why call him Physique if he doesn’t look alike!"

The fat man patted his stomach, satisfied.

The two soldiers exchanged glances, regardless of their smartness, they both felt the Physique had practiced the wrong Martial Arts, ’Physique’ and ’look alike’ definitely weren’t the same thing, he got them confused.

However, this incident still bred an anomaly among ’the pieces’.

But that wasn’t the main point, the smart soldier waved his hand, having the less smart soldier take the Physique back.

He himself stripped Beitang Lie’s clothes and donned them on his own body.

When the less smart soldier returned, his eyes lit up immediately:

"Marshal!"

The smart soldier nodded:

"That’s right! We now have a ’Marshal’.

"You take the body away, destroy it without a trace, and I’ll go discuss tomorrow’s battle with them!"

"Will they listen to you?"

"Won’t listen? Just try."

The two soldiers exchanged a glance, both bursting into chuckles.

Then they went about their respective tasks.

Yet they didn’t notice, there was always a figure silently watching everything.

Chu Qing hadn’t left.

At the time, he pretended to escape from the Blazing Hall with Heaven and Earth Lose Color.

In that state, he could effortlessly slip out of anyone’s sight and remain hidden.

He initially intended to see how Hong Tao and others would strategize.

What would the Celestial Evil Cult do if Beitang Lie was dead?

Then he saw...

Hong Tao and the others were of no concern, yet everything occurring in the main hall was clearly in his sight.

It was only after the clever soldier, donning Beitang Lie’s face, left for the study to discuss affairs, that he withdrew his gaze completely.

"So that’s it... Chess Prince, Life and Death Chess?

"Under him, these ’pieces’ live and die by his grasp...

"Such a person, claiming to be a chess player, isn’t likely to rashly engage in the game.

"Another one who hides in the shadows."

Suddenly, Chu Qing thought of Nianxin Nian’an. As for dealing with such people, Chu Qing didn’t have many approaches, but maybe those two girls from the Bodhi Temple would have solutions.

Afterward, Chu Qing did not immediately return to the Iron Blood Hall.

He lingered casually inside the Blazing Hall, first visiting the study to observe how the clever soldier talked circles around and deceived the Blazing Hall leaders.

Several Blazing Hall disciples who had clearly seen Beitang Lie’s death were almost scared to death by him.

He then found the place where they produced ’pieces’.

But with no battles for the past couple of days, the place remained vacant.

It wasn’t until he judged the time was right, that Chu Qing took the big goose and returned to the Iron Blood Hall.

Inside the Iron Blood Hall, Tie Lingyun, Beitang Zun, and others hadn’t rested.

Even ’the Third Young Master’ had concluded his ’retreat’, being carried by Nianxin Nian’an into the main hall to sit comfortably, with a blanket over his legs, resting his eyes.

Chu Qing made a flamboyant entrance, activating Heaven and Earth Lose Color, stopping everything in his path.

Under the frightened gazes of all the Iron Blood Hall disciples, he slowly walked into the fortress’s main hall step by step.