Chapter 799: The Regional Commander (4800 bonus)

"After all, my Spirituality vision is not the local Qi Gazing Technique; what I see should be somewhat different from the local Taoists."

"I just don't know what kind of quality this Song Gongbao has in the eyes of the local Qi Gazers?"

As Aaron was thinking this, he suddenly felt something in his heart and looked outside the inn.

He saw a carriage driving along the imperial road; the old man driving it had a face full of weathering, and his hands were covered in scars—wounds from blades and arrows—instantly giving Aaron the impression of a veteran of a hundred battles.

This veteran stopped the carriage and, seeing the White Tiger lying next to the inn, was startled but did not lose his composure at all; he merely tightened his grip on the reins and said in a low voice to the inside of the carriage: "Young Master... this is the only inn in the vicinity, but there is a White Tiger lying at the entrance... shall we rest here?"

"Cough, cough... let's stay here. For dozens of miles around... cough, cough... this is the only one."

Accompanied by the sound of coughing, a young Young Master stepped down from the carriage.

Aaron's Spirituality vision was still active, and he saw that this young Young Master had a three-colored halo flowing uncertainly around his body; he was actually a True Cultivator with Daoist attainments!

The young Young Master entered the inn, first saw Aaron in his Daoist robe, and was immediately startled in his heart, then he saw Song Gongbao and his group, and was even more astonished: 'These two... are both people of great stature; a tiny inn, yet it holds a meeting of two kings—a dragon emerging from shallow water! Will it hinder my grand plan? No, no... having reached this final step, is it possible to turn back now?'

Zhang Zifeng stood up, his eyes blood-red: "My father pacified the four corners for the Imperial Court, bearing twenty-four wounds on his body; the entire Zhang Family was loyal and heroic, only to end up in such a state, the Red Tiger Army was disbanded and reorganized, and the old veterans are left lonely and helpless... Do you admit to these crimes, or do you not?"

"Although I have been sent out as a County Magistrate, I still have the duty to protect the land; furthermore... as a scholar, is it not my duty to establish a destiny for the common people?!"

Zhang Zifeng laughed loudly: "I entered the Daoist Gate and learned Daoist Technique specifically to deal with you... Back then, your Qi Luck was thick, and I could do nothing to you, but I could do something to your family, your servants, your ancestral graves... It was not in vain that I spent three years painstakingly plotting, approaching your relatives, and finally getting them to change the Feng Shui and ruin your Qi Luck! Only by waiting for your Qi Luck to hit rock bottom could I come to take revenge with my own hands! That you chose this road and this inn today is the result of my Evil Suppression; what else do you have to say?"

Mo Qingzheng was startled, his face turning slightly pale: "You... you are the son of the Yunzhong Regional Commander Zhang Ye—Zhang Zifeng?!"

"My Zhang Family served the Imperial Court with heart and soul for three generations. Three years ago, you, Censor Mo, submitted a memorial claiming my father was hoarding troops to bolster his own position and had ambitions unbecoming of a subject. You even said that a physiognomist had gazed at my father's Qi, claiming it was purple-blue like a royal canopy, not the Qi of a subject. Truly, if one wants to incriminate someone, one can always find a pretext!"

He had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, with extraordinary features; even though it was not very cold, he wore a fox-fur coat and coughed from time to time, his cheeks pale, as if he suffered from a deficiency illness.

Only Aaron noticed this subtle movement and sneered in his heart.

And he raised his head, wiped the blood away with a handkerchief, but wore a smile on his face: "Official Mo Qingzheng, do you still recognize who I am?"

'Does that mean I'm just a bystander? Then I'll continue to watch the show, watch the show...'

Just then, several violent coughs drew the attention of everyone in the inn.

"Innkeeper, bring our master a pot of tea and two plates of snacks. How much?"

Aaron also looked at that official; he saw that the man had frost-white hair at his temples, a thin frame, and a green robe that had been washed until it was slightly white and had several patches. The servant was also dressed very simply; he looked, indeed, like a clean and honest man.

'Could it be that I'm about to encounter something interesting again? However, watching the show is one thing, but getting myself involved wouldn't be worth it...'

As soon as these words were spoken, Song Gongbao was the first to say "Ah," appearing very surprised.

He gritted his teeth, sat at the innermost table with the veteran, and ordered the innkeeper to bring tea.

About half an hour later, on the imperial road, a servant leading a donkey slowly arrived in front of the inn.

After thinking for a moment, Aaron directly cast a divination for himself in his heart.

This Young Master, under the worried gaze of the veteran, took a small paper cutout from his large sleeve, on which his birth date and time were written in cinnabar; he stared at it silently, wiping the blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief from time to time.

Zhang Ye, born into a military family in the north, was both scholarly and martial, possessing great strength from a young age; he once pursued bandits alone on horseback, returning only after beheading eighteen of them!

As the two approached, Aaron also heard their conversation.

At this moment, Mo Qingzheng had calmed down instead, sitting on the bench: "Young Master Zhang, did you also hear that I had fallen on hard times and come specifically to take revenge?"

"So it was you?!"

In just a few short sentences, the image of a good official who worried about the country and the people appeared before Aaron's eyes.

The master and servant walked closer, were startled by the White Tiger as expected, and then, after the innkeeper's explanation, walked into the inn, carefully sizing up Aaron.

'Neutral Peace?'

While he was speaking, the veteran servant had already drawn his waist saber, and a fierce aura of a hundred battles shocked the others so much that they dared not move rashly.

"Ah!"

Later, when refugees rose up in the north, Zhang Ye and the Red Tiger Army were transferred to Zhongyuan, where they defeated the Refugee Army several times and achieved great merit in pacifying the chaos.

Seeing the White Tiger at this time, he was not surprised, but just brought the old servant into the inn.

Yet such a military general was imprisoned by the Emperor three years ago, his entire family was executed, the Red Tiger Army was killed or wounded to the last man, and the survivors were all wiped out; history books only mention it with a brief stroke.

Aaron, who had originally intended to leave, was suddenly in no hurry; he added more water to his cup and, following the principles of a fun-seeker, waited leisurely for the good show to begin.

"Haha... do you think you were demoted because you were truly old and senile, and wrote the wrong characters in your memorial?"

The servant stepped forward to haggle with the innkeeper, being a bit calculating, but not bullying or using his status to oppress others.

After reaching adulthood, he joined the army and repeatedly performed meritorious deeds, rising all the way to the position of Yunzhong Regional Commander; during his tenure, he was feared in all directions, causing the Hu people to dare not move south to graze their horses, and his subordinate 'Red Tiger Army' was also a strong force that won every battle.

"Master, you are no longer a Censor."

"... Walking along this road, everything is devastated... Once I reach my post, I must submit a memorial to the Emperor, requesting the opening of granaries for relief to give the disaster victims a way to live..."

It was that young noble Young Master, who was lying on the table coughing incessantly, even coughing up blood!

Mo Qingzheng's expression changed a hundred times in an instant, but in the end, he calmed down and tidied his clothes and hat in a leisurely manner: "A gentleman dies but his hat must not be crooked. It is only right that you come to seek revenge for your father's death... but when I impeached the Yunzhong Regional Commander, I had no selfish motives; it was all for the Imperial Court. Even if it happened again, I would still impeach him... Your father may have been loyal, but what about his subordinates? Your father did not have the ambition to rebel, but he had the power to rebel; that is the greatest crime!"

"For the sake of the Imperial Court, for the sake of the people, killing this one man to save the world... I have a clear conscience! On the contrary, you, using Daoism to kill an official, have completely ruined your father's clean reputation... Perhaps in a few decades, your father could have had his reputation restored and received posthumous honors, and even in the afterlife, he could have smiled; now, it has all been destroyed by you!"

(End of chapter)