Wang Ergou's Fate

Before long, the next day arrived. Zhao Da, who had returned the day before, had regained consciousness.

After getting himself cleaned up, he was brought to Yuwen Huaji's study.

"Lord Chancellor!"

"Speak! What happened? Why did you come back alone?"

Thud! "I deserve to die! That man was a devil!"

"A devil? What happened? Explain yourself!"

Kneeling on the floor, Zhao Da suppressed the fear in his heart and began recounting what had happened. He went through it all, not daring to leave out a single detail.

Even after he finished, he was still trembling slightly. The mere mention of the scene seemed to frighten him.

"What did you say?"

"Chengdu!"

"Father, stay out of this! Tell me clearly: did you see what happened with your own eyes?"

"Eldest young master, I saw it all with my own eyes. Even now, remembering it still fills me with fear."

"Zhao Da, you may leave."

"Yes, eldest young master!"

After Zhao Da left, Yuwen Huaji was somewhat puzzled by his son Yuwen Chengdu's behavior.

"Chengdu, did you notice something?"

"Father, we must stop this at once, or the consequences will be unthinkable!"

"Is it that serious?"

"It's far more serious than that. Father, what do you think of my martial skills now?"

"My son Chengdu is naturally a warrior without many equals under heaven!"

Yuwen Huaji felt a little proud as he said this.

"But as I am now, I absolutely couldn't last a single move against that man!"

"What?! A single move?!"

"Yes! Less than a single move!"

"This... this... how could that be?"

"Father, you wouldn't understand just how terrifying it is for someone's martial skills to reach his level.

"My master told me all of this himself. They call people like that Great Grandmaster experts who can project their Qi outward."

"Surely they wouldn't dare openly oppose the imperial court!"

"They wouldn't dare openly defy the court, but assassinating a high-ranking court official couldn't be easier for them.

"And afterward, the court would be powerless to do anything about them. Wouldn't you say that's frightening?

"If we keep tangling with him, one day he'll come to our door to kill us, and all we'll be able to do is sit and wait for death."

Yuwen Chengdu's words made Yuwen Huaji, chancellor of the nation, break out in a cold sweat. He promptly asked in some alarm:

"Then we've offended him now. What should we do?"

"Father, there's no need to panic. Since he let Zhao Da return, presumably he doesn't want to make a bigger issue of this either.

"For now, we should just watch and see what happens, and do our best to avoid him in the future."

"Good! I'll do as you say, Chengdu. But there's one more thing to deal with.

"We can't let the chief culprit who nearly got our entire Yuwen Clan wiped out go."

"Mm! We could hand him over to that man. Perhaps that could ease relations a little, and we might even be able to win him over."

"Good! That's what we'll do!"

At that moment, far away in Luoyang, Wang Ergou still had no idea he had already been sold out.

He was at home, smugly congratulating himself, thinking he would soon be rich and exalted.

Several more days passed. Wang Ergou was eating at home when suddenly the front door was kicked open.

"Wang Ergou! Your business has been exposed. Come with us!"

When Wang Ergou saw that they were from the imperial court, he thought his reward had arrived. Paying no attention to the soldiers' thuggish attitude, he hurried forward, bowing and scraping as he asked:

"Did General Cheng send you?"

"Yes! Come with us!"

The moment the soldier finished speaking, two men behind him immediately stepped forward.

They seized Wang Ergou, pressed him to the ground, and bound him with rope.

Wang Ergou was dumbfounded. Not knowing what was happening, he immediately began to shout:

"My lords! It's a misunderstanding! I know your General Cheng!"

"There's no mistake! General Cheng himself ordered us to tie you up and send you to Blue Silver Village."

"What?! Blue Silver Village?!"

When Wang Ergou heard they were sending him to Blue Silver Village, he immediately grew frightened.

After all, he was the one who had betrayed Blue Silver Village. If he went back, how could he expect a good end?

"My lords! Spare my life! I know I was wrong. Please don't send me back to Blue Silver Village, I'm begging you!"

"Enough nonsense. Take him away!"

The soldiers paid no attention to Wang Ergou's pleas. They had strict orders, and if they failed to carry them out, they would be beaten with military cudgels.

Zhang Sheng had not taken the previous incident too much to heart. After all, he still had faith in his own deterrent power.

At the moment, however, he was troubled by something else.

"Lan Yun! You little brat, give me a break! I really can't teach you!"

"Master! You're just being stingy and refusing to teach me! Hmph!"

Lan Yun looked like a little victim of injustice, leaving Zhang Sheng not knowing whether to laugh or cry, or what to do with her.

It really wasn't that Zhang Sheng refused to teach her. After all, it was a Soul Skill; even if he wanted to teach her, he couldn't.

Besides, Lan Yun had no Soul Power in her body, so how could she possibly learn it?

"Lan Yun! That's enough! Stop bothering Master here!"

"Oh!"

Lan Yun was still a little afraid of her older sister, whose bloodline naturally exerted pressure on her. Since her sister had spoken,

she didn't dare act up again. Puffing out her little cheeks, she left, looking back with every step.

"Ah! I finally got rid of that girl. He's nearly driven me mad these past few days!"

"Pfft! Serves you right, Master!"

"Well, well, Lan Xin, you even dare to laugh at me now! Just watch me deal with you!"

"Then come on!"

As Zhang Sheng charged at her, Lan Xin thrust out her little chest, which had yet to fully develop, looking as though she were daring him to come. Zhang Sheng was instantly at a loss.

"You win! I'm a good man, and I won't fight with a woman!"

"Hmph!"

Seeing how pleased Lan Xin looked with herself, Zhang Sheng's teeth itched. In the end, he could only leave this place of sorrow.

Although Zhang Sheng looked as though he was being bullied, he actually enjoyed this family-like happiness.

Although the sisters Lan Xin and Lan Yun were a little older than him, he cherished them both as if they were his own younger sisters.

Otherwise, Lan Yun would have been driven out long ago for behaving like this. How could she have stayed until now?

Speaking of which, Zhang Sheng had also been studying how to awaken a Martial Soul during this time.

After all, listening to Lan Yun clamoring every day, he wanted to find a solution as soon as possible too. Cultivating alone was far too lonely.

If his cultivation rose in the future, his lifespan would increase along with it. Once the people who followed him grew old, he would be alone again.

He didn't want that to happen, but he didn't know how to solve it. He had already tried many times, but still didn't have the slightest clue.

That day, Lan Xin came to report that the spy from Blue Silver Village had been caught, which surprised Zhang Sheng somewhat.

When they brought Wang Ergou before Zhang Sheng, he recognized him as the villager who had left Blue Silver Village back then.

"My lord, our general sent him here especially, in the hope that you will be magnanimous and forgive them for their offense this time."

"I'll accept the gift. Don't let it happen again! But you should take this man back and hand him over to your general.

"Tell him that men are needed to dig the canal right now, and this is Blue Silver Village's special contribution. Make sure he's treated well, understood?"

Faced with Zhang Sheng's words, so thick with killing intent, Wang Ergou turned deathly pale with fright and immediately began wailing to heaven and earth.

"Young Master Zhang! Spare my life! I lost my head and made such a terrible mistake. Please, for the sake of our old ties as fellow villagers, let me go!"

"Spare you? If I didn't still value those ties a little, do you think you'd live through today?

"I'm only sending you to the canal now. You should be thanking heaven and earth. Take him away. The sight of him makes me sick!"

"No! No! Young Master Zhang! I know I was wrong!"

The soldiers paid no attention to Wang Ergou's cries. They dragged him away from the Zhang Family Estate at once; they still had to return and report.