Chapter 166: Inviting Assistance (Seeking Subscriptions)

"No matter. I have come for official business this time, and I am in quite a rush; there is no time to stop and relax."

Meng Changqing glanced secretly at Fu Yong behind him, feeling somewhat troubled in his heart, while simultaneously smiling lightly as he said this to Du En, then he readily walked into the residence gate first.

Fu Yong naturally followed him inside.

The other hundred guards silently saluted Du En to express their departure, remained outside the residence, concealed their presence, quietly slipped into the shadows, and waited in silence.

It was obvious that if they hadn't intended to let Du En know of their existence to avoid any misunderstandings, they wouldn't have been lined up just now without concealing their presence at all.

Compared to the misunderstandings that might arise from hiding them, this kind of straightforwardness, which felt like an invisible deterrent, was considered a milder situation—or perhaps, observing Du En's reaction to this directness was actually the goal.

"This Meng Changqing..."

"Hmm."

At this point, let alone gaining trust, he had likely already been heavily penalized!

"Is he, in the end, only possessed of some petty cleverness?"

From the perspective of the supervising envoy who was eavesdropping, it also just seemed like Du En wanted to take the opportunity to verify whether the situation described by those two managers was true.

However, Meng Changqing only nodded: "It is indeed worth a look."

Fu Yong could not help but pause slightly.

Was it really so?

Du En intended to probe deeper, so he asked the person who had no follow-up: "Don't you find it strange? Why don't you ask me what exactly is going on?"

"This chaos of evil cultivators actually involves a ruin located in the Southern Border, so I volunteered to accept my sect's orders to come here and investigate."

Audacious! What kind of person is my Lord? How could he commit such a base act?!

It was evident that Fu Yong, standing to the side, very much wanted to say this, to angrily rebuke Du En for being a rude frontier cultivator who did not understand the hierarchy and was being so aggressive.

"It's fine, it's very normal, I understand."

Even the supervising envoy who was eavesdropping could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Just a moment ago, he had felt that Du En's mind was quite agile, not too shallow or ignorant to think he could hide the truth; thus, choosing to take the initiative to reveal his background to close the distance and gain trust was a fairly decent approach.

"I see."

Meng Changqing appeared to believe it.

Consequently, Du En narrowed his eyes slightly, then became even more direct: "Just an invitation? Not a demand?"

The three of them arrived one after another at the main hall.

Very well, he did not.

Meng Changqing nodded and said: "I have indeed noticed."

Next, the development of events seemed completely within expectations; Meng Changqing did not chat much with Du En, only saying that the operation would begin tomorrow and that he should prepare himself, before hurrying away to make his own various preparations.

He was not afraid of him verifying it; rather, he was afraid he would not verify it.

To actually dare to deceive my Lord like this—does he really think I am made of mud?!

Of course, his opinion did not count here, and he felt he had no room to speak, so he could only sulk in secret, hoping that his Lord would not be too indulgent toward this frontier brat.

"There is indeed an important matter. Since you, fellow Daoist, have asked directly, I will speak plainly."

It was truly because Du En's tone just now had been calm, his cadence gentle, and his manner natural; if one cast aside prejudice, a sense of trust would naturally arise.

"Fellow Daoist, it is time to depart."

As soon as he gestured for them to sit, Du En went straight to the point: "Brother Meng, what is the matter that brings you to my door this time?"

Meng Changqing was stunned for a moment, then obediently asked in return: "Then, what exactly is going on?"

"If I really refused, you wouldn't make things difficult for me, would you?"

At this moment, in the air above the production area, looking toward the wasteland of buried corpses, Du En suddenly spoke: "I had to go into seclusion to break through, so I haven't left the city since I entered. I haven't had the chance to visit my old subordinates and acquaintances, and I don't know their current situation."

Du En's heart stirred, and his perception and understanding of this person were being further completed.

The supervising envoy pondered in secret, realizing that his own emotions just now had been stirred up without him even noticing.

Many parties were acting in this night, whether openly or covertly, in a flurry of activity.

And then, he turned around and said such an impossible—or rather, an unlikely—reason as his answer!

Thus, the air in the residence's main hall fell into a brief silence.

"That is indeed true. Even if I don't care, there are plenty of people who will, and who will be self-righteous."

Regarding such sudden words, the guard captain Fu Yong would not consider any reason or logic, and his patience for Du En was being worn down bit by bit.

"Because I have good comprehension."

So, on the way to the wasteland of buried corpses, Du En began to ponder.

Meng Changqing sounded like he was making a casual remark, yet it also seemed to imply something else.

"Haha, of course not, although if I wanted to, I certainly could." Meng Changqing only felt it was interesting, then pointed at Fu Yong, "He is Fu Yong, the guard captain for my operation this time. Given his primary duties and his personality, his gaze might be a bit poor; I hope you will forgive him, fellow Daoist."

Because going there meant he still cared; only by leaving the others there for now did it have meaning, as they could be used to threaten Du En.

"Because you, fellow Daoist, are the outpost patrol most familiar with the mountain forest environment outside the border, and you have performed remarkably before, so I have come to disturb you, hoping to invite you to assist."

This made Du En ponder in his heart, and after weighing the options, he continued: "Since I have decided to participate, we should share information. I assume you two can see that I am already at the late stage of Foundation Establishment?"

Meng Changqing chose to accept this form of address, bright and lighthearted, not minding it at all; in turn, he even took the opportunity to shorten the address, dropping the 'Du' from 'Fellow Daoist Du'.

After Meng Changqing left, Du En simply pondered for a while, then returned to his normal state of cultivation, racing against time, not letting a single moment go to waste.

Leaving the outer city, arriving at the shanty area, then leaving that place.

Although these words seemed sudden, they fit the logic and reason he had provided.

He looked quite natural, but Du En keenly noticed that his attitude seemed slightly unusual.

This is interesting...

Seeing him start off by calling him brother, speaking so calmly and naturally, even Meng Changqing was a bit stunned, which made Fu Yong even more displeased at the time, and even the supervising envoy eavesdropping behind the scenes subconsciously blinked his eyes.

And then.

As for Fu Yong, he was even more scrutinizing and dissatisfied.

Du En said this, then nodded and added: "I can help you all; after all, I am indeed the only Outpost Patrol Guard left now. If I were to refuse, and you didn't succeed later, I fear there would be no shortage of people coming to cause me trouble."

Nodding calmly, Du En set off with Meng Changqing and the others.

Time quickly reached the next day.

"Correct, if you are unwilling to go, you may certainly refuse."

Words with such exaggerated phrasing—one could tell at a glance it was complete nonsense!

"Huh?"

They had not yet approached very far when Meng Changqing could not help but speak up: "Why does the situation over there seem so unstable? It was clearly not specifically stated in the records."

(End of chapter)