"Many thanks to Fellow Daoist Zhang for lending a hand. If not for your help this time, these old bones of mine would likely have been buried here!"
After the battle,
the camp was a complete mess.
As the auras of the two fleeing figures several thousand zhang away vanished, Old Master Chang Shan was the first to recover from the brutal battlefield in the camp. After briefly giving a few instructions to his son behind him, he walked toward Zhang Qingyuan with a smile and cupped his hands in thanks.
With a casual sweep of Zhang Qingyuan's hand, an invisible force immediately spread out and helped Chang Shan back up.
"Old Mr. Chang, there is no need to be so courteous. For Zhang, this was merely a lift of the hand. Besides, wasn't this precisely what Old Mr. Chang had hoped for?"
Zhang Qingyuan's voice was gentle and refined. His slightly pale face bore a smile that made one feel as though bathed in a spring breeze.
Yet his words made Chang Shan's entire body stiffen at that instant.
Cold sweat seeped from his forehead, and his heart gave a violent thump!
Even the biggest fool could hear the dissatisfaction hidden within those words.
And indeed, that was the truth.
The reason he had gone to such lengths to invite Zhang Qingyuan along was precisely because of the latter's hidden strength, in hopes of overcoming this ordeal.
To put it bluntly, it was exploitation!
He had used the other man as a shield.
If Zhang Qingyuan's strength had merely been ordinary, it would have been manageable. At worst, Chang Shan could bow his head afterward, put on a smiling face, and pay whatever price was needed. He could always smooth away the resentment in the other man's heart.
But