Chapter 51

Outside the door, two disciples held lanterns.

It was already late at night. The autumn wind whistled in the courtyard, the grass and trees rustled, and an old man stood behind the lanterns with his hands behind his back.

He wore a green robe, his features were deep, there were three vertical lines between his brows, the corners of his mouth drooped, and with a pair of triangular eyes, he looked quite unpleasant.

His build was tall, his arms were strangely long, but he hunched his chest and back, just like a large macaque with its hands behind its back. His white hair and white beard were all neatly groomed.

And behind him followed two real large macaques, which kept scratching their ears and cheeks and baring their teeth at the crowd.

The person who came was none other than Zhou Pan, the president of the Xianyang Shaanxi Shaanxi Shen Quan Hui!

Under his cold gaze, all the Eight Vajras, and even the angry Zhou Peide, lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.

Zhou Pan didn't speak either. After walking into the room with his hands behind his back, he faced the severely injured Zhou Bai, gave him a faint glance, and snorted coldly: "Follow me, all of you."

The Zhou family's courtyards were all single-story houses, with no high towers or small pavilions, but they were very spacious. Six large courtyards were connected to each other, all equipped with martial arts training grounds, and many disciples were patrolling back and forth with lanterns.

The crowd arrived at the main hall of one of the courtyards. After Zhou Pan sat down at the top, he peeled a small orange beside him and said calmly: "What's this? Usually, you're all very imposing, but when things come to a head, you start infighting?"

The Eight Vajras all stood below the hall, cold sweat involuntarily breaking out on their foreheads.

Zhou Peide gritted his teeth and cupped his hands, "Brother..."

He only said half a sentence, but seeing Zhou Pan's expressionless face, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly changed his words: "Master, it's not that I'm acting recklessly, but that this surnamed Yuan is harboring evil intentions and using sorcery to stir up trouble."

"Now that I think about it, at that time, Bai'er was clearly gaining the upper hand, but suddenly he lost his composure. It must be that this sorcery went wrong!"

Yuan Qu kept his head down, not saying a word.

"Enough!"

Zhou Pan frowned, "This matter was proposed by Yuan Qu. It was meant to let Zhou Bai understand the monkey intent in advance to avoid complications, but I didn't expect he would still lose."

"Yuan Qu, you will be responsible for Zhou Bai's future expenses."

"Yes, Master."

Yuan Qu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly cupped his hands in agreement.

He knew that this matter was considered over.

"Ma... Master."

Zhou Peide looked at Zhou Pan in disbelief.

Zhou Bai was the most promising disciple of the next generation of the Zhou family. Now that his life was uncertain and his future path was cut off, is it enough to just pay some silver?

Recalling Zhou Pan's usual care and appreciation for Zhou Bai, and now that he was severely injured, he only took one look and ignored him...

At this moment, Zhou Peide suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

"Hmph!"

Zhou Pan glanced at Zhou Peide, seemingly guessing what he was thinking, and said coldly: "You think those people have endured for ten years, why do they dare to make a move now?"

"The root of this matter is not in Xianyang, but in Chang'an, in the imperial court!"

"A few days ago, the imperial court issued an edict. Lü Qing, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shanzhou, was dismissed and investigated for corruption and thrown into the celestial prison. This vacant position will either go to Li Canzheng Lu or Li Canzheng Li..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of several of the Eight Vajras lit up immediately.

The military and political power of the entire Shanzhou is mainly handled by the three offices: the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Regional Military Commission.

Among them, the Provincial Administration Commission has the greatest power.

The Zhou family has been able to rise over these years because they climbed up to Li Canzheng Lu Kang, and after Lü Qing was imprisoned, it is very likely that the promotion will come from the left or right councilors.

Among the Eight Vajras, a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar said thoughtfully: "I understand. Someone wants to find a flaw from Master's side!"

"It's good that you understand."

Zhou Pan said coldly: "Old Ghost Zhang's life-and-death ring match is just his first step of probing. If Zhou Bai had won, it could not only preserve the Zhou family's reputation but also make those old fellows who are sitting on the fence wait and see for the time being."

"It concerns the future of the Zhou family, which is why I agreed to this matter. The people sent by the City God Temple also played dumb. Peide, do you still have resentment in your heart?"

Zhou Peide opened his mouth, bowed deeply, and cupped his hands, "Master is far-sighted, I dare not have resentment."

Saying he dare not, but how could he not have any?

Zhou Pan directly sacrificed Zhou Bai's future.

Zhou Pan glanced at him, too lazy to pay attention, and said in a low voice: "Old Ghost Zhang is pressing step by step, trying to force me to make a mistake."

"Announce to the outside world tomorrow that I am unwell and am going into seclusion to recuperate, seeing no outsiders. We will endure this breath for now and let them be rampant."

"Once the overall situation is settled, we will clean them up one by one!"

"And you all, whoever has a dirty backside, clean it up quickly for me. Don't blame me when the time comes for me to clean up the sect!"

"Yes, Master!"

The disciples all cupped their hands in unison.

Zhou Pan nodded, looked out the window, and said calmly: "Ever since that fool Li Hu died, I have understood one thing."

"This Jianghu is never about who is imposing now, but about who can have the last laugh."

"Hmph! When there are no tigers in the mountains, monkeys call themselves kings..."

"Do you really think I would still care about this!"

…………

The sun had just risen when Zhang Shitong arrived at the Ask-Dao Hall.

"What are you here for?" Sha Lifei was just preparing to go out. Seeing him, he asked with a bad attitude.

He wasn't a fool either. After Li Yan's reminder, he immediately knew that this father and son seemed to be talking about loyalty, but were actually using them as free knives.

"Yo, what did you eat just now? Your face is so stinky?"

"It's freshly scooped, isn't this your favorite?"

Zhang Shitong stared with dead-fish eyes, and his opening words lit Sha Lifei's fire.

Just as Sha Lifei was preparing to have a big argument, Zhang Shitong waved his hand, "Alright, alright, let's argue another day. There's an important matter today. Where's Li Yan?"

"Lying down, not seeing guests!"

"Dead?"

"Rest assured, he'll definitely live longer than you!"

Sha Lifei had just finished cursing when he saw Zhang Shitong twist his body and bypass him, striding toward the courtyard.

"Stop right there!"

!.

Sha Lifei reached out directly to grab his collar.

Zhang Shitong didn't even look. He first dodged to the side, then used a coiling hand to hook Sha Lifei's wrist, laughing playfully: "Yo, Hero Sha, where did the might you showed against the Falling Stone Flying Beggar last night go?"

Sha Lifei lost the battle but not the mouth, "If you have the ability, stand there and I'll throw it for you to see!"

Creak~

Just as the two were entangled, Li Yan pushed the door and walked out, still wrapped in bandages, looking coldly at Zhang Shitong.

Zhang Shitong chuckled, let go of Sha Lifei, and shook his head, "No need to pretend, pretending is useless. The Zhou family won't make a move against you for the time being."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yan frowned slightly, while Sha Lifei hurriedly asked, "What's wrong... what happened?"

"The old monkey announced seclusion and is not seeing outside guests."

Zhang Shitong said this, then laughed, "How about it? Aren't you going to invite me in so we can chat in detail?"

Li Yan was expressionless and made a gesture of raising his hand.

Zhang Shitong didn't care, chuckled, and entered the door.

…………

"The matter is like this..."

After entering and sitting down, Zhang Shitong no longer hid anything and recounted the matter from beginning to end, shaking his head, "Actually, without you, we would have had to make a move anyway."

"Once that Li Canzheng Lu Kang takes the position, Zhou Pan will inevitably go to Chang'an to compete for the position of President of the Shanzhou Shaanxi Shaanxi Shen Quan Hui. By then, his power will be overwhelming, and we will be in total darkness, only able to go to other provinces to take refuge."

"My father asked me to tell you this so you would know that you can't hide, unless you are willing to change your name and become a bandit."

After listening, Li Yan's eyes became gloomy, "You have another way."

"Oh, what is it?"

Hearing this, Zhang Shitong's eyes lit up immediately.

Murderous intent flickered in Li Yan's eyes as he said in a low voice, "Solve it directly from the source. Find some experts and slaughter that Lu Kang!"

Zhang Shitong was stunned, and it took him a long time to recover. He swallowed his saliva, "You... you brat, are you trying to rebel?"

Li Yan sneered, "No matter how great the power, it's ultimately just one head. If there's no way out, are you prepared to stretch out your neck for someone to chop?"

"No, no, things haven't reached that point yet."

Zhang Shitong looked at Li Yan, feeling inexplicably frightened, and his speech became much more serious, "To tell you the truth, Li Canzheng Li Siyuan has a deep relationship with us. Even if we fail, there is still room for maneuver."

"If you act recklessly, you'll be breaking the rules."

"If you break the rules, everyone will want your life!"

"The next thing is also very simple. The Zhou family has shrunk back, but they have done many evil things over the years and have also made a lot of silver for the Lu family. As long as we find enough evidence, Li Canzheng Li will have a way to take the position."

"By then, the one who will be unlucky will be the Zhou family."

Sha Lifei laughed in anger, "The Zhou family in Xianyang City stinks for ten miles against the wind. There are plenty of proofs of their crimes; the petitions against them are almost too many for the Yamen to hold, right?"

"Not enough!"

Zhang Shitong shook his head, "For the common people, being beheaded ten times over is enough. But for officials, especially officials like Lu Kang, it doesn't count for anything."

Li Yan thought thoughtfully, "You want to press step by step and let the Zhou family reveal their flaws?"

Zhang Shitong nodded, "This is the only way now. In the Yamen, we smile and welcome each other, but in the Jianghu, we have to move knives and shed blood. All Eight Vajras of the Zhou family are being watched by Jianghu fellows."

"This matter... forget it, you'd better not get involved, so as not to cause any big trouble."

"For the sake of our two families' friendship, let me remind you: if you find that the wind is not right, change your name immediately and leave Shanzhou!"

Seemingly afraid that Li Yan would act recklessly, Zhang Shitong gave a few more instructions before leaving the Ask-Dao Hall.

"Damn it, things have gotten so big, what should we do?"

Knowing the cause and effect, Sha Lifei was clearly somewhat frightened.

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Since the Zhou family doesn't dare to act rashly at this juncture, we should do what we need to do and find a way to improve our strength as soon as possible."

"Even if we have to run when the time comes, we must first get enough travel expenses!"

"Also, find me a file on the Eight Vajras. Perhaps they are the breakthrough point..."

(End of Chapter)