Chapter 239

Zhang Gui didn't notice Lü Zhenduan's 'knife-worthy' gaze and slowly stood up.

He announced in a low voice:

"Big Lü, if not me, who else for this matter!"

Lü Zhenduan didn't understand the meaning of these words and showed a blank expression on his face.

Zhang Gui explained:

"Didn't you just say, who should clean up the mess on Xianrong Island?

If not me, who else for this matter!"

Lü Zhenduan was startled. "I, I don't think that's what I said."

"That's not important; what's important is, if not me, who else for this matter!"

"Longhu, don't joke.

I came back to Zhihai Town to find you this time, firstly because I feel there are tens of millions of corpses buried on Xianrong Island now.

It should be of great benefit to you, so I'm giving you a reminder.

Secondly, after the Tao Goddess left, I'm afraid Prince Zhen won't be able to hold on for much longer.

Of course, the Qianji people are also about to die out.

I saw with my own eyes that even ten-year-old children have been sent to the battlefield.

If it weren't for Emperor Hezheng moving the capital to the Southern Kingdom and stabilizing the situation, leaving Prince Zhen's 'Traveling Palace' with no opportunity to recruit—no, it should be called coaxing, threatening, and forcibly conscripting new soldiers.

Who would live and who would die is really hard to say..."

"You've rambled on so much, what exactly is the 'second'?"

After having a new goal, Zhang Gui lost the patience for idle talk and waved his hand, asking:

"The second is, once Prince Zhen's 'Traveling Palace' is defeated, when the Qianji people and the Yuanshan troops catch their breath.

They will definitely harass the coast of the Southern Kingdom again.

These living human bombs don't need elite soldiers to execute; on the contrary, the old, weak, sick, and disabled—inconspicuous figures—are even better.

So I came to remind you to be extremely careful.

And then I plan to stay in Zhihai and not leave.

Zhang Rui was shot through the head by stray arrows and died.

That head of the Hanli 'coroner's office' who worked with you, Zhang Guo, also died.

A figure of such peerless elegance as Zhao Pujun was also poisoned to death by Prince Zhen's personal eunuch, Eunuch Yan, on 'groundless' charges after the Tao Goddess disappeared!

People, once they reach a point of no hope, the more valuable their status, and the more generous and magnanimous they usually are, the more unpredictable they become.

Sometimes manic, sometimes spirited.

I didn't understand at first, but later I slowly figured it out.

They are reluctant to die!

Having been born into such a good family in this life, if they die, of course, it's a hundred or a thousand times more of a loss than for the general public.

So they hurt themselves and kill others indiscriminately..."

Feeling that the meaning in Lü Zhenduan's words was becoming increasingly loose and tedious, Zhang Gui stopped him:

"Fine, fine, fine, Old Lü, I know what you mean.

Don't worry, I never intended to take you to Xianrong Island anyway.

Now it seems that your mental state is clearly unsuitable.

But I really have to thank you for the reminder.

How about this: Prince Zhen's 'Traveling Palace' is about to be finished according to what you said.

Then aren't the 'Nine Cities of Heavenly Craft' in the Eastern Inner Sea truly mine?

I'll allocate some startup funds and manpower to you; you go and take them over.

If you are rejected, it doesn't matter; we will plan slowly.

At this critical juncture, setting up a foundation overseas is much more stable than in the Eastern Continent.

It can also be considered a retreat."

Lü Zhenduan was also someone with ambition; otherwise, he wouldn't have followed Prince Zhen out of the capital in the first place.

Now he was just frightened by the cruelty of the 'Age of Great Contention', so he wanted to be a 'shrinking turtle'.

But if he could do something and earn a future while ensuring safety to the greatest extent possible.

Then why wouldn't he be happy to do so?

"Since the Heir Apparent is willing to entrust such a great task to me, Zhenduan will serve until death."

Changing from the tone of a guest advisor talking to his master as an equal, Lü Zhenduan's expression changed, and he replied respectfully.

This ability to change one's face like turning a page was truly worthy of a student from the 'Imperial Academy', the number one academy in Ming Song!

Afterward, time flew by, and more than ten days passed in a flash.

Zhang Gui had long since landed on Xianrong Island.

He cleaned up the corpses that had been thrown into mass graves and buried in the mud during his absence.

Having reaped so many 'benefits', it was equivalent to earning back the 'profit' of this trip to Xianrong Island a hundred or a thousand times over.

He quietly sneaked back to Chuanshen Port under the cover of deep night.

He exerted his divine authority, connected with the power of the 'Circulation' rule of the Capital element, and took the fourth Fish-Dragon mechanism warship into his own pocket.

And what was exaggerated was that even though such a giant ship as large as a mountain disappeared, everything on the dock remained as usual.

Clearly, not a single soldier on night duty was at their post, or rather, there were no soldiers on night duty at all.

Even more absurdly, as the largest port on Xianrong Island, Chuanshen clearly had three giant lighthouses, yet not a single glimmer of light appeared.

"'When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter'; this saying is truly apt."

Zhang Gui, who had been smearing ink on his face and driving the 'Vertical and Horizontal Flow' divine cluster within his body to sneakily steal the ship,

stood openly in front of the berth and muttered to himself with emotion.

In his heart, he couldn't help but recall the situation when he first came to Chuanshen Port with Zhang Rui, who came from the 'Capital Military Household Register' and was once one of the 'Three Hundred Huben' of Prince Zhen's Nine-Tin ceremonial guard.

He couldn't help but sigh again, his thoughts jumping:

"This Zhang Rui is a master at training soldiers.

More importantly, as a veteran Flower Dragon Cavalry ten-man commander, he knows the characteristics of such elite armies very well.

When drunk, he even said that training Flower Dragon Knights was a piece of cake.

He is truly a talent.

If his background wasn't so special, making it hard to act rashly, I'm afraid I would have already recruited him into my command and made him a general of the True Dragon Kingdom."

After sighing, he leaped up and walked through the air.

He ran wildly all the way back to the coroner's office outside Hancheng Prefecture in the Gyeonggi Province.

He drew well water in the courtyard to wash himself clean.

He returned to the main room where he lived, wanting to light the fire basin and rest for a while, only to find that the copper basin in the room had been stolen by someone.

Zhang Gui could only crawl into the cold quilt.

Fortunately, all the 'major events' he wanted to handle had been completed, and feeling relaxed, although he felt tired, he slept until dawn.

He put on his fur coat and went out feeling refreshed.

He walked for a while on the stone-paved road of the empty Hancheng Prefecture.

Zhang Gui discovered that a breakfast shop that was open yesterday was now tightly shut today.

He could only continue forward, wandering aimlessly.

He wondered if he could run into a restaurant that was still open.

After walking for a long time, he didn't encounter any open shops, but he did meet a stunning acquaintance.

"Good morning, Mr. Shen."

"Heir Apparent Caiyang, it has been a long time."

Shen Shijing, who was walking blankly on the road, nodded to Zhang Gui with a forced smile.

Seeing her expression and thinking of her current situation, Zhang Gui, who didn't want to invite trouble, also smiled dryly.

"Is that so? Haha, I have something to do, so I'll take my leave."

"I wonder what business the Heir Apparent has to attend to?"

Hearing this follow-up question, Zhang Gui knew that trouble had come knocking.

After thinking for a moment, he said bluntly:

"Fairy Shen, let's not talk about who has grace toward whom, or who has benefited whom.

Just say that with my meager strength, it is impossible to shake the overall situation on Xianrong Island.

Dragging me 'into the water' is useless.

Furthermore, I am not one of those fools who gets excited at the sight of a stunning beauty and has excessive energy; it is absolutely impossible for me to agree to your request.

So it's better not to say anything.

Everyone will be more decent."

(End of chapter)