A Despicable and Shameless Fellow

"Zichuan Xiu, today next year will be your death anniversary!"

"Zichuan Xiu, let us settle our years of grievances today!"

"Zichuan Xiu, you never expected this day to come, did you? Hahaha, heaven has eyes, I've finally waited for this!"

Di Lin shouted towards the room entrance, then turned to look with dissatisfaction at Zichuan Xiu, who was leisurely eating chocolate biscuits, and said in a low voice, "You're so good at slacking off! My throat is sore from shouting, it's your turn—why are you eating!"

Zichuan Xiu popped the last biscuit into his mouth and mumbled, "Di Lin, let's fight to the death!" He then whispered to Di Lin, "Listening to their endless meeting nonsense, how can I have the energy to act without eating anything—is Xiujia okay?"

"Zichuan Xiu, you lecherous and shameless dog! Today I will eliminate you on behalf of heaven!" Di Lin transmitted his voice: "She's very well!—But don't ask about someone's wife as soon as you meet! And don't call her so affectionately 'Xiujia'—you should change to calling her 'Madam Di' or 'sister-in-law'! Otherwise, I'll get angry!"

"Hmph, I'm afraid you, Di Lin, don't have the ability!" Zichuan Xiu transmitted his voice: "What a petty man—if you hadn't won the dice roll back then, how would Lin Xiujia have married you!"

Di Lin transmitted his voice: "That just proves it was destiny—Lin Xiujia was destined to be my wife, you should accept your losses when you gamble!"

Zichuan Xiu whispered, "Destiny?—Nonsense! Later I cut open the dice, and they were filled with mercury and magnets—no wonder Sterling and I kept rolling 'one-one-two', while you casually rolled three sixes! Before the dice even stopped rolling, you eagerly ran off to propose to Lin Xiujia—you know, she actually liked me!"

Di Lin whispered, "Don't even start! Even if it was a fair competition, it wouldn't have been your turn—you were not even sixteen years old, still with snot on your face—which of my wife's eyes would have seen you worthy?"

The two looked at each other, their expressions changing:

"Despicable scoundrel!"

"You unlicked cub!"

"Utterly shameless!"

"You are lewd—you slut!"

"Go to hell—descend to hell!"

"After you!"

***

Di Lin: "Yang Minghua is planning to rebel!" He kicked a chair towards the wall, smashing it to pieces.

Zichuan Xiu: "That's not news—I hear that ten times a day in the Far East, and twenty times a day after returning for just one day." He quickly moved his chair away, afraid Di Lin would kick it away too, leaving him no choice but to sit on the table.

Di Lin: "You're listed third on Yang Minghua's kill list—is that news?"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Zichuan Xiu shouted with all his might, his voice shaking the entire Commanders' Office building, as if engaged in a life-or-death battle—he whispered, "Oh, who else is on the kill list?"

Di Lin transmitted: "Ge Yingxing is first, Sterling is second, and the family's Commander-in-Chief Zichuan Canxing is not in the top three, ranking fourth."

"Is Miss Ning alright?"

"Don't worry, Miss is fine—Yang Minghua plans to kill Commander-in-Chief Zichuan Canxing and then support her to become a puppet ruler!"

"Should we quickly notify Lord Ge Yingxing about this? He might not know yet..."

"He wouldn't know?! What can possibly be hidden from that old fox? Don't underestimate his sickly appearance—let me tell you, Yang Minghua has sent a total of four assassination attempts with seventeen experts!"

"What was the result?"

"No result: those seventeen experts with fierce physical strength disappeared—as if they had never appeared in this world! The next day, when the sun rose, we could still see Ge Yingxing—barely alive, as if he would die in the next minute. Perhaps we would all be dead, and this sickly fellow would still live for a hundred years!—He's too shrewd, the entire Far East is his territory, Yang Minghua's people can't get close to him."

"But he's in the Imperial Capital now, isn't Yang Minghua at a great advantage..."

"Yang Minghua wouldn't even dare to think about it—Ge Yingxing brought back six thousand guards, all loyal to him and incredibly brave—unless an army attacks, they absolutely cannot get within two kilometers of his residence!"

"Then Sterling, who is ranked second..."

"Sterling serves as the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards and rarely leaves the Commander-in-Chief's Mansion—besides, Yang Minghua doesn't have any experts capable of silently putting Sterling to death—of course, I'm an exception!—Tell him that Yun He and Fang Ge, the Vice Banner Captains under his command, have already been bought by Yang Minghua."

Zichuan Xiu turned and smashed a valuable vase indiscriminately, to let people outside know that the duel was fierce!

Di Lin looked at him in surprise: "Someone isn't worried about the danger at all—someone who is neither a Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards, nor protected by six thousand elite guards, yet is unfortunately on the kill list, an unimportant reserve Deputy Commander who no one will care about if he dies—I advise you to move out of Miss Ning's home quickly—it doesn't matter if you end up dead in the street, just don't scare Miss Ning, and don't trouble her to collect your body."

Zichuan Xiu asked, "What is Yang Minghua's strength?"

"Extremely strong! Lei Xun's seventeen thousand Central Army is in his hands, and if a fight really breaks out, he could wipe out Sterling's Imperial Guards in less than an hour!"

"What experts does he have?"

"The Central Army has always been the family's elite force, with countless experts in the army; their commander Lei Xun, although greedy, lustful, and fond of fame—he immediately beams with joy every time you call him the 'Number One Expert'—but his Wind Thunder Skill is indeed astonishing; his Chief of Staff Luo Minghai has always been low-key—I still don't know what martial arts he practices; and Yang Minghua himself is also a first-class expert, his Ripple Internal Energy is extremely terrifying..."

Zichuan Xiu put his chin in his hand and thought for a moment, then asked Di Lin very seriously, "Look, can I tell Yang Minghua: let's forget our past grievances and be friends..."

"Since Yang Minghua has such great strength, what is he waiting for?"

"If he openly rebels, he fears that commanders like Ge Yingxing, Ming Hui, and Fang Jin who command heavy troops in other regions—once Ge Yingxing raises the banner of 'defending the emperor and punishing the rebels' and leads millions of Far East Army troops back, even with the support of the Central Army, Yang Minghua will not be able to cope." Di Lin waved his sword vigorously, emitting a "swish swish" sound of sword energy.

"Then what are his current plans?" Zichuan Xiu said, smashing an antique screen again.

"He has two steps: First, win over Fang Jin and Ming Hui—once one of them is bought by him, the Black Flag Army and the Border Defense Army will restrain and entangle each other, and will no longer be able to interfere in the chaos of the Imperial Capital; Second, he sent me to the Far East Army to take over your position, intending to split the Far East Army from within."

"Should I tell Lord Ge Yingxing about your identity—the Far East is his territory, if you don't tell him, you won't be able to do anything there, and he will block you at every turn." Zichuan Xiu said, smashing another antique flower pot, which made a loud crashing sound.

"Only Ge Yingxing can know—any further spread would put me in great danger! Now I don't know who I can trust anymore."

***

In the three years since their separation, three friends who shared life and death—one fought fiercely on the bloody battlefield, one went undercover to sleep with wolves, and one bravely confronted Yang Minghua head-on—now Di Lin is about to take to the battlefield to fight, while Zichuan Xiu and Sterling are engaged in a different kind of battle in the Imperial Capital, a peaceful and prosperous "battlefield"—silent, yet more dangerous...

The two looked at each other, seeing deep concern in each other's eyes, their hands clasped tightly, as if they could feel the warmth of brotherly passion and deep affection between them! Their hearts surged, but they couldn't cry out loud, a word stuck in their hearts, unspoken: "Brother, take good care!"

Just like the nine deaths and one life before, the same hot-blooded loyalty, all for a promise made long ago, a loyalty without regret, for a great figure who had already departed but had not vanished, a figure that once cast a shadow over the entire Imperial Capital—Zichuan Yuanxing.

Di Lin suddenly remembered, "Ah Xiu, you can't just walk out of here unharmed—they'll be suspicious. I can see..."

Di Lin began to punch and kick, leaving some "duel" marks on Zichuan Xiu.

Zichuan Xiu: "Stop, stop, stop! Had enough? You seem to be getting more and more into it!"

Di Lin (grief-stricken): "Do you know how painful it is for me to have to strike my own good brother—this spiritual pain is more unbearable than your physical pain!"

Zichuan Xiu: "You're smiling so happily—why don't you let your body suffer, and I'll bear the burden of conscience instead."

Then came another round of brutal beating...

Di Lin: "It still needs some wounds and blood to be convincing..."

Zichuan Xiu (on the verge of death): "I can't take it anymore—why don't you just stab me for real!"

※※※

"Sigh, since it's come to this, I'll take it out then..."

Zichuan Xiu's eyes widened as Di Lin pulled out a makeup box and a bottle of color from his clothes...

"This is... this is..."

"Oh, these are paints used for makeup to look like an injured person during filming, and this is red ink to simulate fresh blood—rare items, you know! I bought them when I went on a business trip to Hollywood last time, and it cost me a lot of foreign exchange!"

"I wasn't asking about that—since you have this stuff, why didn't you take it out earlier? You made me..."

Di Lin smiled strangely and whispered into Zichuan Xiu's ear, "Answer A: 'Because I just forgot!' Answer B: 'Actually, I did it on purpose,' Answer C: 'Because someone took the opportunity in the darkness of blowing out the candles at a birthday party to secretly kiss my wife,' Answer D: 'So I've been waiting for this day for a long time!'—which answer are you willing to believe, my little brother Ah Xiu?" He then lightly kissed Zichuan Xiu's ear.

The door of the room finally opened. Di Lin, a Red Guard Captain, strode out chest puffed out, flicked a speck of dust from his crisp uniform, and clapped his hands with ease—it was clear the duel was won effortlessly!

Zichuan Xiu lay in a pool of blood, covered in wounds and on the verge of death. Using the last of his strength, he pointed a finger and cursed, "Di Lin, you despicable and shameless fellow!"