Chapter 1137

If one were to say that in this era, carriages and horses are slow, that would indeed be true, but strangely enough, whenever matters involving the upper echelons and the jianghu are concerned, news spreads quite rapidly—what happened today will be known to nearly everyone who ought to know within three or five days.

Among these, the information brokers bear an unparalleled responsibility.

They gather, sell news—money and information exchanged hand to hand—and those vital tidbits spread like the wind.

Xu Zengyi sat to Chen Wuji's lower side, his entire head seemingly buried in a thick mountain of papers.

These are all the matters he has had to handle these past few days.

With this military reorganization, these civil officials naturally underwent some adjustments as well.

The general direction and specific responsibilities remain largely unchanged from before, except that after the reorganization, the staff below has slightly shifted toward the cabinet's direction; military affairs are first discussed among them, detailed decisions are formulated, then submitted to Chen Wuji for his consideration, and each day requires one person to stand duty in the Zhongjun Camp's Big Tent.

Today, it is Xu Zengyi's turn, as the most senior Grand Marshal, to stand duty.

Upon hearing Chen Wuji's words, Xu Zengyi lifted his head from the pile of papers, "My lord, Buddhist sect people are not easy to deal with; they are also extremely powerful jianghu sects, and moreover, some Buddhist sects are utterly unreasonable."

"Those literati criticize jianghu sects, and Buddhist sects naturally count among them; even if the literati do not name names explicitly, Buddhist sects will still take it upon themselves. Especially since these people have so many great Buddhas backing them, they have long carried a sense of being superior to others."

"I do not know exactly how profound and mysterious they truly are, but they themselves have consistently displayed profound mystery from beginning to end, giving people the feeling that all beings lie beneath their feet, all are sinners, and only sincere faith might possibly transcend the sea of suffering."

Chen Wuji snorted, "Buddhist sect... heh."

"Still, this scene is truly becoming more and more lively! I don't know what surprise they might still pull out for me—I really am somewhat looking forward to it. This commotion has made it seem as if I no longer need to do anything at all."

Clearly Chen Wuji is in the midst of the vortex, yet now he has instead become the one watching from the opposite bank—this is truly inconceivable.

The world is indeed a great makeshift troupe.

Xu Zengyi gazed at Chen Wuji with bright eyes, "My lord, do you truly not know who is assassinating those jianghu people in Jiannan Commandery and Shangfang Commandery?"

Chen Wuji shook his head, "This matter also leaves me somewhat puzzled; the Spy Camp has not captured their traces, Kong Jianshi says those who came are all experts, at least at the master level, and skilled in battle formation attack, very much like assassins' methods."

"I have thought for a long time, yet still cannot recall when I came into contact with these mysterious, mysterious killers from the jianghu. Although there is no solid evidence, for now it seems like good news."

Upon seeing Chen Wuji deny it, Xu Zengyi's expression also grew somewhat bewildered, "Really strange and odd—such good people in this world now seem not to be many..."

……

West of Jiannan Commandery, in a village nearly completely buried by wind and sand, a slender woman with her hair tied in a high ponytail, wearing a leather skirt that flared front and back, sat squatting on the ground cooking porridge.

Beneath her leather skirt, two proportionate, fair, long legs showed no fear of wind and sand, nor of worldly gazes—just openly bare, that fairness forming a stark contrast with the desolation of this wild village.

On the campfire, the copper pot blackened by smoke and fire bubbled gurgling, releasing waves of food aroma; not much seasoning, mostly the true fragrance of the food itself.

Not far away, on the half-collapsed courtyard wall, a rough-hewn man lay atop it, picking his teeth with a dagger, his gaze unwaveringly fixed on the copper pot before the woman.

As for the lovely sight beside him, in his eyes it was completely invisible—he didn't even glance at it.

"I say, Xiao Ye, this meat broth has been stewed this long and still isn't done? Stew it longer and it'll get too thick to drink—about right, huh?" He finally couldn't hold back.

Xiao Ye, without turning her head, said: "I like it a bit thicker."

"Ah..."

The rough man sighed deeply, "Having you cook is a good thing, but it's just too worrying—just cooking a meat broth, really no need for so much fuss..."

"Then why is the Jade Lady Restaurant's so good?"

"Because they run a restaurant!"

"I don't run a restaurant, but I also want to eat something tasty. Food is naturally something constantly pondered and improved upon—even the Tavern Owner, such a big figure managing myriad affairs daily, has time to study eating and drinking; I merely kill people every day—why can't I ponder a bit too?"

"This thing... it's not the same."

The rough man very much wanted to say, some talents are innate, not something you can just learn if you want to—moreover, how could ordinary people compare to those blessed with great qi flow?

But he didn't dare say it, afraid of getting beaten.

Xiao Ye raised her chin slightly, "If you let me cook, then don't talk so much nonsense!"

"Fine, fine, fine..." The rough man conceded, having something to eat is already not bad—just bear with it.

"Wait!" He suddenly lifted his head, "You just said 'Tavern Owner'?"

"Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Hmm..." The rough man fell silent for a long while, "Logically speaking, it is indeed so, but the Tavern Owner seems not to have agreed—now calling him that feels a bit premature."

Xiao Ye said without blushing or racing heart: "I'm just getting used to it in advance, so I won't fumble later."

"..."

"Go check on Old Huang and Little Huang, have them gather some wild vegetables— as for whether it's that troublesome? Tell them if they can't find any, just forget it, don't make things hard for yourself."

"Okay!"

The rough man put away his dagger, a carp leapt up from the earth wall, shook off the dirt, glanced around, then lay back down, "No need to go check—people are back. Shen Tu's Woman is also back; seeing her crazy appearance, this time, the number of people she's caught should not be small."

Xiao Ye shook her head, "Shen Tu is having another loose and saggy day!"

"Pfft..." The rough man choked on saliva, violently coughing, his face turning red from strain.

Xiao Ye asked, "Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"..."

The rough man stopped coughing, spoke helplessly: "Enough, enough—we two aren't suited to discuss this topic; stop trying to trap me."

"Rest assured, if I were to set a trap, it would be for the Tavern Owner—you're not even qualified!" Xiao Ye said.

"..."

The rough man's eyes suddenly widened, "You still have this idea?"

"Why not?" Xiao Ye countered, "Shen Tu's target is to sleep with irrelevant people to enhance strength and seek breakthrough opportunities—why can't I sleep with the Tavern Owner to seek breakthrough opportunities?"

The rough man speechlessly rolled his eyes, "Are you two practicing the same martial method?"