Dragon's Edge: Blood and Conspiracy: Dragon's Edge: Blood and Conspiracy, #6

By Rob Reynolds

When the seventeen-year-old Ling Feng was falsely accused of patriarchal murder and expelled from home, the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword in his hand suddenly resonated, and he realized that what his family had guarded for generations was not only the sword manual, but also the shocking secret that subverted the dynasty. From a despised bastard to an avenger with a magic weapon, he rose in the cracks of mechanical mechanisms and poisonous conspiracies. He not only had to uncover the truth about the tragic death of his parents, but also had to use the sword as a blade to cut off the mastermind behind the fate of the dynasty. This work will take you into a world where martial arts and political intrigues are intertwined, and see how the useless man breaks the situation with a sword and rebuilds the family's glory in the test of blood and fire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob Reynolds
• Release date: Jun 16, 2025
• ISBN: 9798231729203

Book preview

Chapter 251: Spring Examination

### **1. Mohen’s Night of Terror**

Ling Feng picked up a half piece of celadon cup with his fingertips, and the candlelight cast a spider-web-like shadow on the desk through the cracks. The body of Chen Yannian, the chief priest of the Imperial College, lay prone in front of the Nine Provinces Map of Yu Gong, with cinnabar still condensed on the tip of the wolf-hair brush tightly clenched in his right hand. Before he died, he actually drew a half-broken Xuanji Map on the blue brick floor.

When they found it at 3:30 pm, the doors and windows were all locked from the inside. Siye Li Ce handed over the autopsy form, the dark lines on his cuffs soaked with cold sweat, Lord Chen just submitted the sealed box of the Spring Examination Questions today. This... I'm afraid someone is trying to disrupt our Great Ming Talent Selection Ceremony!

Ling Feng squatted down to take a closer look at the bruises on the dead man's neck, and suddenly used a silver knife to pry open his left sleeve - there were a few ink stains on the inside of the indigo shirt, which was the peacock blue color of the eight-line paper specially provided by the Ministry of Rites: Li Siye, why don't you explain why the head of the Imperial College died suddenly with the ink from the Imperial Academy's copying room?

There was a sudden thunder outside the window, and heavy rain wrapped in broken leaves rushed into the hall. Just as Li Ce was about to speak, Ling Feng had already opened the Compendium of Four Books on the desk. A dried June snow petal was floating in the wind between the pages, and the strange fragrance was pungent.

—-

### **Second, Xuanji breaks the deadlock**

At the beginning of the Mao hour, the iron door of the transcription room burst open. Ling Feng's fingertips brushed over the three thousand red-sealed scrolls, and suddenly stopped at the third compartment of the seventh row - the smell of pine smoke and ink shone through the tiny cracks in the wax seal, exactly the same as the ink stains at the murder scene in the Imperial College.

This test paper should have been sent to the Ministry of Rites last night. He pulled out a box sealed with yellow silk and turned it towards the candlelight, but the wax seal on the bottom of the box has half an extra wave than the regulations. Before he finished speaking, the bookshelf behind him suddenly collapsed, and hundreds of copies of Wujing Zongyao fell like an avalanche!

Li Ce flew to throw Ling Feng away, but his right leg was pressed by the scroll. Ling Feng had already held up the fallen inscription box and opened the wax seal with his fingertips: Sure enough. The handwriting of Three Strategies for River Management on the inscription paper was neat, but the ink stains on the edge glowed a strange indigo under the candlelight - it was the secret writing potion mixed with Miaojiang blue indigo grass.

—-

### **Three, Night Rain Captures the Murderer**

It was raining heavily at 11 pm, and Ling Feng was standing on the roof of Mingyuan Building in the Imperial Examination Hall. The inspector was checking the examinees with a special bronze mirror, and suddenly a silver light flashed from the hem of a student's robe.

Wang Shian! Li Ce's roar broke through the rain, Where did the magnetic powder on the sole of your boot come from? The examinee turned around and tried to escape, but was hit on the knee by the inkstone thrown by Ling Feng. When he tore open his jacket, dozens of tiny calligraphy pages fell out, and the handwriting was exactly the same as the annotations on the sealed box of the examination papers in the copying room.

The student is innocent! Wang Sheng suddenly bit his tongue, and the blood sprayed on the bronze mirror, revealing the words in gold powder: At 3:00 pm, Chu Wang Temple will be handed over. Ling Feng sneered and pinched his jaw: The fang mark of the Minnan blood anaconda is still on your throat, why are you pretending to be a poor student?

—-

### **Fourth, the disaster left by the King of Chu**

The midnight thunder cracked the ruins of the Chu King Temple, and Ling Feng kicked open the rotten red lacquer door. On the altar stood three gilded tripods, and the ashes inside the tripods were mixed with the unburned fragments of the Xuan Ji Tu. Li Ce used his sword to push away the incense ashes, and suddenly whispered: My lord, look at the ears of this tripod!

Ling Feng's fingertips stroked the wavy pattern on the bronze tripod's ears, which matched the dark pattern on the wax seal of the Imperial Examination Box. The belly of the tripod suddenly cracked, and half of the Imperial Academy's Attendant Seal rolled out. The crack at the seal button matched the shape of the June Snow Flower petals at the murder scene of the Imperial College.

Twelve years ago, when the King of Chu was murdered, Lord Lin Mubai committed suicide in this temple. Li Ce's voice trembled, Could it be that the death of Chen Jijiu... Before he finished speaking, a sound of breaking air came from the beam, and three poisoned crossbow arrows went straight for Ling Feng's throat!

—-

### **Five, Fishing for the Golden Bull**

Amid the sound of the fifth watch gong, Ling Feng slammed the bloodstained crossbow arrow on the table in the Zhigong Hall: The arrowhead is made of Liaodong cold iron, the arrow shaft is made of southern Fujian ironwood, and the tendon wrapped around the string is produced in Hetao - this weapon is the essence of our Ming territory.

Lin Qingzhi stroked the fragment of Xuanji Tu with her bare hands, and suddenly splashed the tea on the wall. The water marks formed a clear route on the Yu Gong map: The Yellow River's old course is shifted by 30 miles, which is exactly the new embankment built by the Ministry of Works last year. She tapped the Dizhu Mountain with the tip of her hairpin, If the embankment breaks here, the results of the spring examination will be announced in three months...

What a great move, killing three birds with one stone! Ling Feng raised his sword-like brows suddenly, Destroying the dike and flooding the Imperial Examination Hall will not only destroy the evidence of the imperial examination, but also put the blame on the Ministry of Works for corruption, and take advantage of the chaos to transfer the remnants of the Chu Prince case. He suddenly opened the window lattice, and in the morning mist he could vaguely see the new candidates lining up to pass through the Dragon Gate. The back of a certain blue-shirted candidate was surprisingly seven points similar to the prince in the old portrait of the Chu Prince's Palace.

Chapter 252: The Mystery of Weapons

### **1. Shocking Changes in the Sea Chart**

Ling Feng's fingertips caressed the newly arrived crossbows of the Navy Camp. The copper watchtower glowed coldly under the candlelight. The wavy pattern on the inside of the crossbow made his pupils shrink suddenly - this was clearly the anti-rust carving on the Portuguese warship. Li Dianshi, he turned to look at the accompanying military official, the Ministry of Works Regulations stipulate that the crossbow should be cast in brass, and this soft copper mixed with tin...

Before he finished speaking, there was a crisp sound of iron falling to the ground from deep in the warehouse. Li Ce rushed into the shadows, his boots rolling over the scattered arrowheads, and suddenly squatted down: Master Ling, please look! The broken arrow shaft revealed dense bamboo fibers, and the broken surface was still stuck with seaweed mud.

Last month, the Minnan Navy reported that they had intercepted three smuggling ships in the Ryukyu Sea. Ling Feng pulled out the logbook from his sleeve, There were also arrow shafts disguised with sea mud in the cargo holds of those Japanese pirates.

—-

### **Second, Ghost Works Shock Wave**

At the hour of Xu, the heat wave in the workshop of the Ordnance Department was overwhelming. Lin Qingzhi brushed the pile of Wu Bei Zhi beside the furnace with her wide sleeves, and suddenly picked up a page of scrap paper: The size of this improved crossbow drawing is marked in English inches. She dipped the paper into the tea soup, and after the ink line faded, a dark pattern appeared - it was the totem of the snake wrapped around the tripod on the Nine Tripods Round Table in Nanyang.

Three months ago, the Ministry of War requested 100,000 jin of refined iron. Ling Feng flipped through the damp account book, the smell of rust mixed with the scent of ink pungent, But according to the calculation of the consumables in this drawing, 150,000 jin should be needed. He suddenly pressed on a line of small words: Wait, this batch of iron was transported by canal?

Thunder roared outside the window, and Li Ce kicked open the wooden door of the warehouse. Twenty camphorwood boxes with special supply for military equipment seals were filled with red veined stone unique to Lingnan - this brittle stone could not withstand forging at all!

—-

### **Third, Waves Lead to the Horse**

The midnight rainstorm slammed against the window lattice. Ling Feng used a fire stick to bake the navy camp transfer order. The edge of the parchment gradually rolled up, revealing the fragments of the Kunyu Wanguo Tu in the interlayer. The sea off Quanzhou Port marked on the map had been added with cinnabar to create a fictitious Ironclad Island.

That's right! Lin Qingzhi threw the teacup at the map on the wall, and the water marks formed a ship shape in the Dengzhou section. The keels of the fifty warships that the Ministry of Industry reported to the Ministry of Industry last year were not made of Sichuan nanmu. She picked up a piece of sawdust with the tip of her hairpin. This is Nanyang ironwood, and only Portuguese merchant ships will purchase it!

Suddenly, a gust of wind broke the window, and Li Ce swung his sword to cut off the flying crossbow arrow. The tail of the arrow was engraved with Javanese witch characters, which was the death threat mark that Ling Feng had seen in the Malacca dark port.

—-

### **Fourth, Crossbow Devouring the Moon**

Amid the sound of the fifth watch gong, Ling Feng opened the cellar of the Arms Department. Three hundred unassembled crossbows were soaked in tung oil, with fine Quanzhou script counting symbols engraved on the inside of the crossbow arms. This is the old system of Zheng He's treasure fleet! His pupils shrank suddenly, The cargo hold manifest of the 'Zhenhai' that sank in the Gulf of Siam used this code.

Lin Qingzhi suddenly pressed the mechanism box: Look at this mountain scale, it is designed for left-handed people. She swept her wide sleeves across the sand table by the wall , simulating the scene of warships boarding, If the Japanese pirates usually use left-handed crossbows...

Before he finished speaking, there was the neighing of a war horse outside the door. Li Ce rushed in covered in blood: Urgent report from the Ministry of War! Ten new ships of the Dengzhou Navy ran aground on the Ironclad Island, and all the crossbows on the ship exploded!

—-

### **Five, Thunder Breaks the Situation**

The morning light pierced through the sea fog, and Ling Feng stood on the reef of Ironclad Island. In the sea water under his feet, the copper nails of the wreckage of the new ship were glowing with a strange indigo blue. This is anti-rust paint mixed with malachite powder and sulfur, he broke off half of the crossbow, It will corrode iron when it comes into contact with sea water.

Lin Qingzhi picked up a half-sealed letter from the ruined captain's room. The wax seal was a variation of the Nine Tripod Round Table: Three days later, Duke Cao will meet the Portuguese delegation to observe the Shenji Camp's drills.

Drill? I'm afraid it's just a trick. Ling Feng sneered and threw the secret letter to Li Ce, Go check the warehouse of the Ministry of Works. I bet the twenty red cannons have become painted puppets! Turning around and looking at the stormy waves, It's time to let those demons see a real naval battle.

—-

Chapter 253: Turbid Waves of the Yellow River

### **1. Suspicion of dam collapse**

Ling Feng stepped on the knee-deep mud, his fingertips tracing the rammed earth at the breach of Wang Mang's dike. The rammed earth that was supposed to be mixed with glutinous rice juice was now broken into gravel between his fingers. Li Dianshi, he picked up a handful of dirt, the Ministry of Works reported that 30 dan of glutinous rice was consumed for every zhang of dike, how come there is not a single grain of rice in this soil?

Li Ce wiped the mud off his forehead and took out the Ministry of Revenue's approval document from his bosom: Last year, Henan Prefecture did receive 90,000 dan of glutinous rice. I will go check the granary records now.

No need. Ling Feng kicked open the half-broken red sandalwood box with the tip of his boot. The official seal of the Ministry of Industry's River Defense Bureau on the gilded lock was clearly visible. This box should have contained silver ingots for flood control, but now it's filled with river mud - I'm afraid someone didn't even bother to cover up the embezzlement.

—-

### **Second, the food relief scheme**

Thousands of disaster victims were queuing up to receive porridge in front of the charity granary in Kaifeng Prefecture. Ling Feng suddenly pressed the wrist of an officer and asked, Why is there cotton cloth wrapped around the handle of this ladle? With a little force from his fingertips, more than ten copper coins fell out of the hollow wooden handle.

Lin Qingzhi opened the porridge bucket, and the wooden spoon stirred it, and a cold metallic light flashed: What a 'loud' disaster relief porridge! She picked up the stones at the bottom of the bucket and looked at them carefully in the sun. The Qinggang rock is produced in Huaiqing Prefecture, and was just allocated to the Ministry of Works last month to repair the dike - is this considered making the best use of it?

The assistant general of the warehouse department fell to his knees and said, I am innocent! This... this is... Before he could finish his words, the grain cart in the distance suddenly overturned, and out of the sacks that were supposed to contain new wheat for disaster relief were pebbles wrapped in cinnabar!

—-

### **Three, River Engineering Code**

At midnight, Ling Feng walked into the abandoned river defense office with a torch in hand. The mottled walls were covered with dense scratches, which looked like childish graffiti. Li Ce suddenly exclaimed: Look at these horizontal, vertical, left and right strokes, sir!

This is the river engineering code. Lin Qingzhi's fingertips traced the marks. Three horizontal lines and one vertical line represent the lack of stone materials, and two dots and one curve represent the interception of silver and money. She suddenly stopped in front of a strange symbol. A cross in a circle means 'Shangguan is asking for life.'

There was a strange noise coming from behind the bookshelf, and Ling Feng kicked open the secret door. The room was full of account books flying like snowflakes, and the latest one recorded shocking data: On July 23, it was falsely reported that 6,000 civilians were killed; on August 9, it was falsely claimed that 20 ships sank...

—-

### **Fourth, the official ship sank the silver**

At the Bianhe dock, twenty official ships carrying grain were taking up unusual amounts of water. Ling Feng grabbed the boatman's bamboo pole and plunged it into the water. The iron hook on the pole actually brought up half a silver ingot: What a great 'sinking ship' plan! The ship was sunk to look like a natural disaster, but in fact, the silver was sunk in the shallows.

Li Ce led his men to dive into the riverbed and fished out not only the official silver of the Ministry of Revenue, but also dozens of wooden boxes with special supply of military equipment seals. The moment they opened the boxes, they saw a cold light - the crossbows that were supposed to be sent to the border were soaked in tung oil waiting to be smuggled!

Release the pigeon! Ling Feng cut the cable, Notify the Dengzhou navy to block the seaport. The numbers on these crossbows are enough to make the Ministry of War drink a pot.

—-

### **V. Turbid Waves Cleanse Evil**

At five o'clock in the morning, Ling Feng stood on the newly closed dam. The Minister of Works was tied to the floodgate with iron chains, his official robe soaked in mud: Lord Ling, I am a second-rank official!

The annual salary of a second-rank official is 700 dan, but ten hu of South Sea pearls were found in your residence. Ling Feng threw out Ben Fanchao's private account, Just the fact that he added lead to the interlayer of the grain ship to increase the weight and eat up the salary is enough to be executed immediately!

The gates opened with a bang, and the turbid waves rushed eastward with the evidence. Lin Qingzhi looked at the gradually brightening sky: He embezzled 900,000 taels in three months. How many innocent souls have been drowned in the Yellow River?

That's not all. Ling Feng unfolded the River Defense Study seized from the secret room, and the Liaodong ginseng stuck between the pages fell down. The transaction between the Ministry of Works and the border generals has just been revealed.

Chapter 254: Nine Gates of Doubt

### **1. Mysterious traces of bricks**

Ling Feng's fingertips slid across the blue bricks of Desheng Gate, and the morning dew condensed into tiny beads between the cracks of the bricks. The city guard handed over the list of names attentively: Sir, the rotation of the nine gate guards is in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of War, and there will be no omissions.

Really? Ling Feng suddenly squatted down and picked up a piece of dark red debris from the corner of the parapet. How could the clay specially supplied by the Zhuque Gate brick kiln be mixed into the rammed earth layer of Desheng Gate? He turned and looked at Li Ce. Check the material transfer list of the Ministry of Industry last month to see where this batch of bricks was originally supposed to be sent.

Li Ce flipped through the book, his face changed suddenly: Your Excellency, this batch of bricks and stones is registered for 'repair of the Imperial Ancestral Temple'... Before he finished speaking, the neighing of horses was heard in the distance, and a team of cavalrymen trampled through the morning mist. The armor of the leader was stained with the unique red sand of the Suzaku Gate!

—-

### **II. Weaponry Puzzle**

In the warehouse of the Military Equipment Bureau, Lin Qingzhi held up the newly made Shenji Crossbow: The Wubei Zhi states that the range of a crossbow is 200 steps, but this crossbow can only reach 150 steps. She unscrewed the Wangshan copper cover, Look at this spring, it should have used a fine steel spring, but it was replaced with copper-clad wrought iron.

Ling Feng took the crossbow and suddenly pulled the trigger with