Chapter 489: Setting One's Position Straight

"Lord Cheng, it has already been over a year; could it be that Lord Cheng has not gained a single thing?"

Speaking of this, Qi Chengan's voice could not help but rise significantly, and it also grew much colder.

However, Qi Chengan did not provoke Cheng Lin too much. He knew very well that the other party was a Deputy Commander of the Black-Clad Guard, a person of high position and great power, and was not the least bit intimidated by him.

What do the Black-Clad Guards do? They are experts at catching people. Conversely, they are likely quite skilled at things like framing others.

To put it bluntly, if Cheng Lin were determined to find fault with him, he really would not have a very good way to deal with it.

The reason Cheng Lin, as a Deputy Commander of the Black-Clad Guard, had to kneel was not because of Qi Chengan, but because of the person he represented!

Therefore, some things only need a slight reminder. After all, the fact that he was sent here is enough to show that "that person" is truly anxious.

Cheng Lin was able to climb to his current position, so he was naturally no ordinary person. He believed that Cheng Lin could see this point as well.

"This, this subordinate has failed His Majesty!"

Seeming to understand Qi Chengan's meaning very clearly, after retorting once, Cheng Lin very quickly straightened out his own position.

Maintaining a good relationship with Shen Yu was the prerequisite for him to complete his mission upon arriving in Xiaozhou. Even if the mission could not be completed, he could not afford to offend Shen Yu.

Even now, Cheng Lin did not know exactly how strong this Lord Shen was. He only knew that his aura was vast and boundless, with no end in sight.

He had submitted reports on this situation several times, and the response he received was always to be careful, and then more careful, regarding his attitude toward Shen Yu, and that he must absolutely not become his enemy.

Yet Qi Chengan started sowing discord the moment he arrived; perhaps he was harboring evil intentions. This little bastard doesn't look like a good person.

When it comes to loyalty, who can compare to them? There is no need for you to come here nitpicking and finding fault.

The Black-Clad Guard, the Imperial Secret Guard, and others, besides recruiting experts from the jianghu and children of noble families, also had a portion of personnel who were experts cultivated by the Imperial Household itself; Cheng Lin was one such person.

These orphans, adopted from a young age, were instilled with the ideology of loyalty to the monarch and love for the country from childhood, and they were branded with the label of the Imperial Household from the inside out.

He had been adopted by the Imperial Household at the age of three and trained in secret for over twenty years; joining the Black-Clad Guard afterward was a smooth path to success.

On one hand, Cheng Lin was truly excellent enough; on the other hand, how could it not be because of his identity? People like them were the only ones His Majesty could use with peace of mind and promote without any reservations.

As for the loyalty of noble family children like Qi Chengan, just how much there was, that was truly unknown.

Don't look at how you are waving a Golden Medal in front of me now; perhaps the next moment an imperial decree will come down, and you will be suppressed directly.

"Lord Cheng, could it be that not even a single trace was found? You should know that His Majesty cannot wait any longer!"

"None!" Shaking his head honestly, Cheng Lin also felt somewhat helpless.

It had been over a year, and thousands of Black-Clad Guards had been given free rein to search, yet they had failed to find any traces; it was no wonder His Majesty was growing impatient.

After urging them several times, he sent Qi Chengan over directly; this was clearly to supervise them.

"This subordinate has had no gains up to this point, but this subordinate can be certain that Lord Shen has long since wiped out Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley."

"Over this past year, the Xiaozhou treasury has spent a massive amount of gold and silver; this subordinate guesses that this must be what Lord Shen obtained from wiping out Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City!"

"Hmm, not bad!" Nodding, regarding such a guess, many people had actually already guessed it.

This person Shen Yu never took bribes, nor had he ever accepted gifts from anyone—well, that was because he relied on robbing them.

You send me a gift with your front foot, and I target you with my back foot; as long as it is investigated and found to be problematic, the whole family is raided, and doesn't it all become mine?

But then again, even if Shen Yu were to gamble his life on greed, in such a short time, he could never have accumulated such a large family fortune.

The gold and silver spent in Xiaozhou over this past year was even more than the combined tax revenue of the imperial court for two years; who knows how many people were drooling with envy.

Thinking about it, only Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley, which had been passed down for many years, could have such a family foundation and financial resources.

Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley recruited evil people from all over the world; this group absolutely belonged to a crowd that stopped at nothing to do evil.

And evil people, especially evil people with formidable strength, were generally very rich—very, very rich.

When these people fled to Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City, they often carried significant personal wealth with them, and once they entered Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City, these naturally belonged to them.

Accumulating over time, year after year, no one knew exactly how much wealth Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City had, but it was absolutely enough to rival a nation.

It was only that spendthrift Shen Yu who scattered this massive amount of gold and silver across Xiaozhou, which also made countless people feel heartbroken.

You say, if you don't want it, you are noble, you view money as dirt, you could give it to us. We wouldn't mind; we actually like this kind of "dirt."

But these people could only watch as Shen Yu took large sums of money and distributed them to groups of peasants, hating him through gritted teeth but only able to stare helplessly.

They dared not say these words, otherwise Shen Yu would really dare to slap them with a big mouth.

"Lord Cheng, is it really impossible to find even a single trace?"

"Impossible to find!" Shaking his head honestly, "If it could be found, you wouldn't have had to come, Lord!"

The reason they were sent to cooperate with Shen Yu was, on one hand, to cooperate with him, and on the other hand, how could it not be to use him?

Everyone knew that once Shen Yu entered Xiaozhou, he would definitely clash with Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley, and the two sides would inevitably be locked in a fight to the death.

And the mission Cheng Lin received was to fully assist Shen Yu, and incidentally, use Shen Yu's hand to find Evil Man City and Cannibal Valley and obtain the things inside.

The plan was originally sound; as long as Lord Shen took down Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City with their cooperation.

At that time, the work of raiding the homes was usually done by them, so they would naturally know the locations of Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City. Incidentally, quietly taking something from inside, wouldn't that be very easy?

But Shen Yu secretly wiped out Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City, not needing their cooperation at all, and afterward, he didn't use the Black-Clad Guard to raid the homes either.

He just did it all by himself, quietly, and finished looting both places, which also caused the previous plans to go down the drain.

Cheng Lin had no choice but to take people to search everywhere; anyway, both places had been wiped out, so there was no danger to speak of.

Over this past year, Cheng Lin had led men over mountains and across ridges, sleeping in the wind and dew; on the surface, it was to sweep away bandits and investigate various places, but in reality, it was just to find Cannibal Valley and Evil Man City.

But after searching for over a year, he still hadn't found them; what could he do? He had already done his best!

"Then did you never think of asking by beating around the bush?"

"Ask?" Unable to help but raise an eyebrow, Cheng Lin almost cursed out loud!

Do you think Lord Shen is stupid, or do you think my brain is flooded with water? Am I tired of living or what, to dare to open my mouth like that?

Isn't that clearly telling people that I have ulterior motives?

"Ask," if you want to die, go do it yourself, don't drag others into it.

"Cheng Lin awaits orders!"

"From this day forward, the Xiaozhou Black-Clad Guard is under my command; the entire Black-Clad Guard shall cooperate with me in every way, and there shall be no mistakes!"

"Yes, sir! From this day forward, all of us in the Black-Clad Guard will follow the lead of Lord Qi!"

"Very good!" Nodding, Qi Chengan

"Lord Cheng, I must still remind you of one thing: you need to keep your status clearly in mind!"

"This subordinate is very clear on that. This subordinate swears to serve His Majesty to the death; there is no need for you to remind me of this, sir. It is you, Lord Qi, who must keep your own position straight!"

"You!"

The reason Cheng Lin answered this way was, in no small part, to keep Qi Chengan in check.

He wanted to make it very clear to the other party that there was only one person he served, and also to let this Lord Qi know not to play any tricks.

Cheng Lin sensed it; this person's display was perhaps a bit too eager, and it was hard to guarantee that there were no ulterior motives!