Chapter 131: Fate Meets Gray-Black

At this time, Prince Zhen's reputation was growing day by day in the imperial court and among the people of the Song Ming Empire.

With every passing day, his implicit influence grew by a fraction.

But at the same time, he was becoming increasingly free from the control of his old father, the Hezheng Emperor.

Under these circumstances.

If Prince Zhen's rise hadn't been so fierce and abrupt, leaving the Hezheng Emperor without a good excuse to transfer him back to the capital.

It is unknown what kind of tricks this high-minded but low-ability emperor would have used.

One must know that the 'Imperial Family' is the most heartless.

In the face of that supreme power, there are countless cases of sons killing fathers, brothers deceiving brothers, and sons poisoning their own mothers.

So, upon hearing Zhang Gui say 'Let His Majesty make a holy judgment on who is right and who is wrong', Lü Zhenduan felt a jolt.

The sweat on his body subsided quite a bit.

Although he was one of the many Imperial Academy students in Prince Zhen's 'pocket', he was a mediocre talent who was older and lacked sharpness in his work.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the only one left behind in the barren mountains of Zhihai Town to face off against Zhang Gui while his other classmates followed the 'temporary residence' to move far away to Xianrong Island and Qingshang Dao to build their careers.

But no matter how mediocre Lü Zhenduan was, he was still a mediocre talent from the Imperial Academy; among ordinary scholars, he was still a sharp person who 'is a living monkey once you stick fur on him'.

When things came to a head, he no longer pretended to be confident and jumped up.

"Caiyang, you dare!"

"If Prince Zhen's 'temporary residence' were still in Zhihai Town;

or if he heard that I had swaggered back to Zhihai Town and was about to return to punish me, I naturally wouldn't dare.

But would Prince Zhen abandon the overall situation on Xianrong Island and rush back to the Eastern Continent just because he is displeased with a tiny barbarian official like me, who is like an ant?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Zhenduan knew that it was absolutely impossible for him to suppress Zhang Gui, so he stopped talking nonsense, snorted coldly, and strode away.

He appeared even more arrogant than usual.

But he knew himself that he had been going to 'Dagui Grocery Sauce Garden' three times a day for the past few days, eating pancakes with shrimp paste until he vomited, finally waiting for Zhang Gui.

Yet not only did he fail to gain the upper hand, but he was also forced to be ashamed by a few words from the other party that saw through the truth.

He could only roll away in a sorry state.

And Zhang Gui, looking at Lü Zhenduan, who had been left speechless by his verbal sparring but whose back remained straight as he walked further and further away, actually held him in higher regard.

"This person knows he has no chance of success, so he immediately admits defeat and rolls away; he is defeated but not discouraged.

He actually has some bearing.

It seems Prince Zhen truly has the 'spirit of a king'; otherwise, it is impossible to explain why a prince who had no real power and was young and vigorous before leaving the capital would have so many talents gathered around him."

Since ancient times, when those founding emperors and generation-dominating masters rose to power.

There would inevitably be famous ministers and generals who appear once in fifty, one hundred, or even three hundred years, appearing in clusters like radishes and potatoes, to be used by them.

And this is the great fortune of 'becoming a king or emperor'.

When there are too many people in an era who possess this kind of fortune, it will form an 'Age of Great Contention'!

Lü Zhenduan did not know that Zhang Gui's evaluation of him was actually not low; he only felt that his face was burning with pain, as if it had been slapped by someone with a large ear-slap.

Returning to the old camp yamen where Prince Zhen's 'temporary residence' was located in Zhihai Town.

He immediately summoned the group of subordinates he had just subdued to plan his next move.

When Prince Zhen first rose to power in Zhihai Town, although the momentum was extremely great, the actual soldiers he controlled were few.

Naturally, it was impossible to leave many people for Lü Zhenduan to control. After opening a new situation on Xianrong Island, Zhihai Town's weight in Prince Zhen's strategic layout plummeted.

This forced him to rack his brains to dig into Zhang Gui's wall.

And after Prince Zhen rose to power, his momentum in Siyang Commandery was second to none, and the attractiveness of his 'camp' naturally increased greatly.

Plus, except for Zhang Gui himself, no one knew that he had left his fief during the war because of the sudden rise of his 'heart demon'.

This made his character seem flawed, which also gave people a legitimate reason to betray him.

Of course, more importantly, people tend to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

One is a prince who may ascend the throne in the future and is currently in the limelight;

The other is a barbarian official and general who took advantage of opportunities and flattery to get lucky.

Even if the former had no gratitude and the latter had pulled them up with one hand, many people would still choose to change their allegiance.

And Zhao Fucheng, who was among the first batch of fake hundred-man commanders promoted by Zhang Gui and brought back to his hometown to show off, was one of them.

At this time, in the main hall of the old camp yamen.

He and more than a dozen officers of the Longhu Shogunate looked at Lü Zhenduan, whose face was as gloomy as water, and waited for a long time.

Seeing that the adult in the hall remained silent throughout.

He had to grit his teeth and say: "Actually, Caiyang Longhu has been kind to me, and there are some things I really find hard to say.

But he fled from the enemy at the moment of Zhihai Town's crisis, which is completely the behavior of a villain.

He violated the military law of the 'Fourteen Executions Before the Battle', and for this alone, he should be beheaded to show the public.

Zaicheng Lü, why don't you submit this to Prince Zhen..."

Traitors, especially those who were once valued by their old masters, often do things more absolutely and ruthlessly because they cannot face the old people, let alone face themselves today.

However, although Lü Zhenduan understood this principle, seeing Zhao Fucheng, who was burly, had regular features, and a righteous face, trying so hard to frame his former benefactor.

He still couldn't help but frown, and a sense of disgust arose in his heart.

And this is also one of the aspects of human nature.

What's more, Lü Zhenduan now understood that he couldn't fight Zhang Gui at all.

Zhao Fucheng's poisonous scheme was not actually making things difficult for Zhang Gui, but was tearing off his incompetent 'painted skin'.

Naturally, it added a bit of anger from embarrassment.

He could only say dryly: "Now is a time of national affairs..."

Just as he was thinking about how to shirk, Lü Zhenduan suddenly saw Zhao Fucheng's strong body sway a few times.

A few drops of bright red blood dripped from his nostrils.

The person suddenly stiffened and collapsed onto the ground.

"Commander Zhao, Commander Zhao..."

Lü Zhenduan was stunned, took a few steps down the hall, and reached out to feel Zhao Fucheng's pulse.

Immediately afterward, his face changed slightly, and he shouted:

"Hundred-man Commander Xu, go quickly and invite the resident doctor to diagnose Commander Zhao.

Remember to make it clear that the patient's breath is already faint, and you must bring 'Shengmai Drink' to save his life."

Human life is at stake, and everyone is in the same 'camp'; no matter how unpleasant Zhao Fucheng's actions were, Lü Zhenduan had to do the surface work.

And that 'Shengmai Drink' only has two medicinal materials.

One is old mountain ginseng; the other is blue winter wheat.

When used, it is concentrated and heated.

Without any medicinal guide, one directly uses chopsticks to prop open the patient's throat and pours the medicine into their stomach.

Then, either they come back to life and are calmly conditioned, or they die and have no way to live.

Therefore, this Shengmai Drink is equivalent to the 'Soul-Returning Pill' in the mortal world.

Even if it cannot compare to the spiritual pills refined with supernatural secret methods, it still costs ten taels of gold per gourd.

Using it on Zhao Fucheng at this time is truly a waste.

Outside the old camp yamen.

Zhang Gui calmed down the unique seven-colored Main Divine Cluster he had just obtained, 'Fate Meets Gray-Black'.

A faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, and he muttered to himself:

"Fate Meets Gray-Black, Fate Meets Gray-Black.

If it were Prince Zhen, a noble of the Son of Heaven, who was hit by this move of mine, it would be Fate Meets Super-Light Gray, and I'm afraid he wouldn't even sneeze.

But you, Zhao Fucheng, have encountered it, and your future destiny has become pitch black; how can you continue to live?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 132 =====

But since you, Zhao Fucheng, have encountered it, your future destiny has turned entirely pitch black; how could you possibly continue to live on?"

(End of Chapter)