Chapter 848: The Snake Staff Old Man's Inner Bitterness

They still haven't seen Chen Wuji's shadow, but internally they've already descended into utter chaos.

Liu Yan had already beaten the drum to summon the generals, while Cao Lin chose to obey Li Yu's military order to hold position.

Gao Yu suddenly didn't know what to do.

In this battle, each of the four top commanders has a different faction behind them, and he vaguely senses something.

Logically, he now only needs to pick the side most advantageous to himself and cozy up to it.

But this is war.

It's war!

On the battlefield, factional strife shouldn't be like this.

If he chooses to follow Liu Yan's actions, the first to die will likely be him, whose background isn't strong enough; Liu Yan's tactics... heh, that's basically a pile of shit.

When speaking to Li Yu, he can choose to say some pleasantries, giving Liu Yan a little face.

But speaking objectively, based on the facts, there's only one conclusion: Liu Yan simply won't fight.

He rose from the ranks through sheer hard work, having fought his whole life, so he can still see this clearly.

Gao Yu rubbed his forehead in frustration and curled up in his chair.

He doesn't know how to resolve this cost-benefit analysis.

His troops aren't as tough as Cao Lin's.

There's no way to be willful.

Getting close to Liu Yan is seeking death on the battlefield.

But getting close to Li Yu means death if he returns to the court.

Both roads are dead ends.

After much thought, with no plan to break the deadlock, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Li Yu: "Sir Li, holding position benefits none of us."

"I know, but I can't let so many soldiers follow that Liu guy to gamble with their lives." Li Yu said, then rose and left his seat, saying, "Sir Gao, do as you please; I'm just a nominal Junior Military Commissioner, I can't command any of you—my orders you may obey or ignore, come or go as you like."

Gao Yu's forehead throbbed with angry veins.

A bunch of bastards!

All a bunch of bastards!

How can we fight a war when we've messed things up like this?

……

Li Yu left the council hall, slowly walked back to his quarters behind it, went around the wall, and his face instantly lost all heaviness, instead a hint of joy rose from the corners of his mouth.

He pushed open the door, Li Yu glanced at the old man sitting calmly sipping tea in the chair, sniffed, and said, "This doesn't seem to be my tea, does it? Though it smells nice."

The old man by the window set down his book, poured Li Yu a cup, and said, "This is Chen Wuji's tea; Sir Li, try it—the taste is quite different from that of the capital, with its own unique flavor."

Li Yu looked over suspiciously and asked, "Chen Wuji's tea—how did you get hold of it?"

"I've stayed in Nan Jun for so many years; if I can't even get a few packets of tea leaves, wouldn't that be too incompetent?" The old man chuckled lightly, "Go ahead and taste it—I took one sip and liked it."

"That Chen Wuji kid is a tea connoisseur; I don't know where he got all these quirks at such a young age."

Li Yu took a sip, gave it a slight taste, and said, "Indeed the flavor is somewhat different, but not as exaggerated as you claim—you old thing, could it be that you can't best Chen Wuji, so you're overpraising his stuff?"

"Drink more and you'll know; I've always judged matters, not people." The old man said.

Li Yu half-believing, took a few more sips, nodded, and said, "This flavor really is distinctive. Forget the tea—let's talk business: what's your plan going forward?"

"This time, you must be extremely careful; the Prince has run out of patience. Nan Jun was supposed to be a sure-win territory for us, but you've failed again and again, making the Prince furious."

The old man exhaled lightly, picked up the snake-headed crutch beside him, and pushed himself up with both hands.

"I know all that you've said, but... Chen Wuji is truly not easy to deal with. The Chen clan has hidden themselves too deeply; they were prepared." Snake Staff Old Man paced slowly in the hall, "I really have suffered successive failures—this can't be denied, and I can't be bothered to explain."

"Considering our many years of relationship, you can give me an explanation." Li Yu said, "What if the Prince actually listens? You were once his most capable aide—do you really intend to let him keep misunderstanding all along?"

Snake Staff Old Man snorted, "Winner takes all, loser loses—what's there to explain? What I just said aren't excuses for my failures, but a statement of fact."

"What I want to say is, the Chen clan is hidden too deep—do you understand what I mean? The strength we see in Chen Wuji now isn't necessarily all there is."

Li Yu's face suddenly changed: "How is that possible?!"

"How could it not be?" Snake Staff Old Man countered, "This is one of the most useful lessons I've learned from my many dealings with Chen Wuji. I used to think I'd dug up all the Chen clan's roots, but when it came time to strike, they suddenly surprised me."

"This isn't just once or twice—it's happened countless times!"

"From when I used the Gu clan to raise troops, to the earlier assassination, it's always been like that. The Qiang people lost, the assassination failed—heck, I never expected the Chen clan to still have so many masters; I tried to draw away the Ciji Lodge's people, but instead the Chen clan's own masters came out."

Mentioning that recent massive Rivers and Lakes assassination, Snake Staff Old Man flew into a rage.

"To assassinate Chen Wuji, he uprooted all the Rivers and Lakes influence he'd built over the years—what happened? Chen Wuji was fine, not a hair lost, while his own Rivers and Lakes forces were nearly torn out, provoking Chen Wuji to give him a horse-trampling of the Rivers and Lakes."

Snake Staff Old Man suddenly turned, fixed Li Yu with a piercing stare, and said word by word, "I really suspect Chen Wuji bears the Qi Flow. He's been too smooth—since the Chen clan raised troops, he's won every battle, never encountering any notable obstacle."

"His demeanor is exactly like those ancient emperors and generals!"

Li Yu's brows knit; he was clearly holding a teacup, yet had already forgotten he still had this thing in his hand.

"Chen Wuji is tough to deal with—I've heard as much!" After a moment, Li Yu snapped back to attention.

"But the Prince entrusted us with this task; we still have to carry it out, not let others' might hinder our actions. Chen Wuji isn't an invincible deity; he must have a weakness—we just haven't found it yet."

"So, tell me—what are you planning to do next?"

Snake Staff Old Man stopped pacing, his eyes thoughtful, his cane tapping intermittently on the ground, and asked, "Did Liu Yan take his troops and leave alone?"

"Yes, you guessed that exactly right."

"What was Cao Lin's reaction?"

"I ordered to hold position, and he complied."