Chapter 179: Meeting the Supreme

The shopkeeper flatteringly took the banknotes from Nie Feng's hand.

"Sir, please wait a moment.

I will pack it up for you immediately."

As if afraid that Nie Feng might change his mind, the shopkeeper took the banknotes and scurried away.

In a shop like theirs, they usually only sold one or two hundred taels worth of goods a day; how could he not be excited to finally encounter a big buyer today?

After quickly wrapping up the Jade Buddha, the shopkeeper respectfully presented it to Nie Feng with both hands.

"Sir, please take a look."

Nie Feng took a glance, confirmed there were no issues with the Jade Buddha, then turned and walked out of the shop to reunite with Duan Fengyun and the others.

Looking at the smiling Nie Feng, Duan Fengyun teased:

"Feng, looking at the smile on that Boss's face, you must have spent quite a lot of money."

Nie Feng rubbed his head and laughed:

"Not much, just a little bit more than Shuang."

"Oh my, you are all here acting like suckers, each one more willing to spend than the last."

Duan Fengyun laughed.

Nie Feng and the others couldn't help but roll their eyes.

"Suckers?

When you buy yours later, you'll be the real sucker.

Two gifts, you'll be bled dry."

A single, identical thought occurred to all three of them simultaneously.

The shopkeeper watched Nie Feng and the others walk away, and once they were gone, he immediately closed his shop.

Having made such a huge profit today, he was definitely going to go out and squander it on a good time.

He muttered to himself:

"Xiao Cui, Xiao Lü, here I come."

Looking at his demeanor, it was clear he was going to the Yihong Courtyard to live it up.

Duan Fengyun and the others had not walked far before they were surrounded by a group of soldiers.

Duan Fengyun looked at these soldiers and laughed:

"Yo, do we get arrested just for visiting the Underground Black Market in the Capital?

Why don't you go arrest those merchants instead of coming to catch us suckers?"

The leading soldier cupped his hands in salute and said:

"Hero Duan, you are joking.

The Supreme has issued a decree inviting Hero Duan, Hero Qin, Hero Bu, and Hero Nie to gather at the Imperial Palace.

I ask that the four heroes please do me the favor, otherwise I will have no way to report back to the Supreme."

"As expected, things done under the Emperor's feet are indeed too transparent; it hasn't been long and you've already found us.

Lead the way, we shall go see what your Imperial Palace looks like."

Duan Fengyun waved his hand at the soldiers, telling them to lead the way.

"Hero Duan, Hero Qin, Hero Bu, Hero Nie, please this way."

After a group of soldiers surrounded the five of them, they walked toward the Imperial Palace.

If not for the fact that they were chatting and laughing along the way, others seeing this formation would have thought they were some heinous criminals.

Under the 'escort' of the soldiers, Duan Fengyun and the others soon arrived outside the Imperial Palace.

And the general guarding the palace gate was an old acquaintance of theirs.

"Oh my, isn't this General Ma?

Long time no see, General Ma.

It has been a while since you were promoted from a commander in the Garrison Army."

The gate-guarding general was none other than Ma Jun, the former Garrison Army general who had gone to the Dongying coastline.

Ma Jun laughed:

"Indeed, long time no see, four heroes.

It is all thanks to the four heroes that I was able to be promoted here.

Over these years, the Supreme has missed the four heroes dearly, and today I can finally fulfill my wish to see the four heroes again.

The Supreme has been thinking of the four heroes for a long time, so I will not talk too much with you, lest the Supreme becomes angry.

After the four heroes meet with the Supreme, I will come to Mr. Duan's residence to have a drink with you all."

After hearing Ma Jun's words, Duan Fengyun felt a headache coming on; it seemed the entire imperial court knew that Duan Lang was his own younger brother.

Under the Supreme's "sugar-coated bullet," it would be difficult for Duan Lang not to be recruited into his service.

After entering the gate, the group had a smooth path all the way to the outside of the main hall.

The Imperial Guard stationed outside stopped them and said:

"Before the throne, please surrender your weapons."

"What?

Call your old Emperor out; he wants us to surrender our weapons, is he dreaming?"

Bu Jingyun shouted directly in anger.

Duan Fengyun stepped forward and said:

"It is impossible for us to surrender our weapons."

"Go and ask your master, ask him, if we wanted to take his life, would we need weapons?"

Yet the Imperial Guard remained unrelenting, saying:

"It is our duty; please cooperate, everyone."

One side was forcing them to surrender their weapons, while the other was absolutely determined not to hand them over.

Just as the atmosphere between the two sides grew heavy and the situation became difficult to manage, the Supreme sent someone out.

"By the order of the Supreme, Hero Duan and the others may enter the imperial court without surrendering their weapons."

With the Supreme's decree, the Imperial Guard finally softened their stance.

Watching the rigid, puppet-like Imperial Guard, Long Er made a face to provoke them.

These Imperial Guards truly had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai; fortunately, Dad had a good temper, for if it were Uncle Bu's explosive temper, he would have hung this group up and beaten them long ago.

Long Er muttered secretly in his heart.

Long Er also had no interest in this kind of court and bureaucratic style; the spirit of a Martial Artist in his bones and soul made him love freedom and acting as he pleased.

Under the gaze of all the civil and military officials, Duan Fengyun and the other four walked into the imperial court.

The five of them stood straight just like that, locking eyes with the Supreme.

"Upon seeing the Supreme, why do you not kneel?"

Someone nearby heckled.

Upon hearing this, Long Er initially wanted to kneel, but seeing that Duan Fengyun and the other three did not, he simply did not kneel either.

"Audacious! You do not kneel even when seeing the Supreme; do you wish to be beheaded?"

Seeing that Duan Fengyun and the others still made no move, the heckler rushed up, preparing to teach them a lesson.

Before his palm could land, Bu Jingyun reached out as fast as lightning, grabbed his throat, and said:

"The thing I loathe most in this life is a dog that keeps barking; if you dare to bark one more time, I will break every bone in your dog body."

The heckler finally realized Bu Jingyun's terror; his feet dangled in the air, trembling constantly, and his hands flailed about.

Meanwhile, the civil and military officials in the court all turned a blind eye; this heckler had only recently become an official and was unaware of what had happened back then.

Furthermore, this person usually relied on his sharp tongue and acted arrogantly, so the officials had long found him an eyesore.

But this man was the Empress's younger brother, so the officials dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Thus, seeing this man actually go and provoke Duan Fengyun and the others out of ignorance, the officials chose to ignore it, hoping he would suffer a bit, or better yet, die at the hands of Duan Fengyun.

Seeing that he was about to stop breathing, Bu Jingyun finally opened his hand.

"Next time, do not bark like a dog again, or you will truly die a very, very miserable death."

The heckler was thrown to the ground, yet he felt no remorse, looking at Bu Jingyun with a face full of murderous intent.

Regarding such ant-like hatred, Bu Jingyun did not take it to heart at all.

Wanting to kill him was easier than drinking a sip of water.

The Supreme had actually always had complaints about this brother-in-law of his; he lacked ability yet his heart was higher than the heavens.

If not for his sister, the Empress, constantly whispering in the Supreme's ear, he did not know how many times the Supreme would have disciplined him.

The Supreme had just taken the opportunity to let Bu Jingyun properly teach this guy a lesson.

Now that the person had been dealt with, it was time for him to step out and preside over the situation.

"Hero Duan, Hero Qin, Hero Bu, Hero Nie, four heroes, it has been a long time since we last met.

Thinking back to the scene at the Wushen Peerless Palace that day, it remains vivid in my mind; I thank the four heroes for your grace in saving us.

Additionally, I thank you heroes for traveling to Dongying, eliminating the Emperor, and slaying the Eight-Headed Serpent, raising the prestige of our Zhongyuan."

The Empress's brother, who had still been harboring hatred and wanting to find an opportunity to take revenge, began to tremble with fear upon hearing the Supreme's words.

Although he had never met Duan Fengyun and the others, he had heard about this matter from his sister, the Empress.

His sister, the Empress, told him that back then, four heroes like Martial Arts Myths had stepped in to save the Supreme and the others.

Later, these people even traveled across the sea to Dongying, slew the Dongying national guardian beast, the Eight-Headed Serpent, and killed the then-Emperor of Dongying.

Thinking that he had just ignorantly provoked these four, he could not help but feel immense regret.

In order to avoid being held accountable later, he quietly crawled out from the ground.

Duan Fengyun smiled and said:

"Indeed, it has been a long time.

Supreme, you are still the same as you were back then; thank you for your care toward my younger brother over these years."

The Supreme replied:

"Hero Duan, you are too polite.

Mr. Duan possesses the talent to govern the world, yet he is willing to settle for teaching and nurturing others; this is the blessing of the common people, but it is also the loss of the imperial court.

May I ask, is that your son beside you, Hero Duan? He is truly a man of talent, a young hero."

Duan Fengyun shook his head and laughed heartily:

"This fellow is not my son; I do not have such a son.

This little guy is my godson, Long Er.

Long Er, hurry and greet the Supreme."

Upon hearing this, Long Er obediently called out:

"Greetings, Supreme!"

"Haha, good, truly a young hero.

Someone, bring this little hero Long Er the dried fruit that the vassal states just offered as tribute two days ago."

Soon, someone brought a large plate of food for Long Er.

And Long Er, who could not control his mouth, looked pitifully at Duan Fengyun.

"Why are you looking at me?

This is what the Supreme gave you to eat, so just eat it; do you expect me to feed you?"

Looking at Long Er's pitiful appearance, Duan Fengyun asked in return.

Duan Fengyun muttered to himself in his heart:

"This Supreme is truly a master of sugar-coated bullets; he never forgets to win over the people around me at any time.

But, the people around me are not so easily won over; you had better give up on this idea."

After receiving Duan Fengyun's permission, Long Er grabbed a handful and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

"Dad, this is really delicious, you should try some quickly."

While eating, Long Er did not forget to promote it to Duan Fengyun and the others.

Duan Fengyun rolled his eyes at Long Er, signaling for him to just eat and stop talking so much.

Watching the lively and cute Long Er, the Supreme laughed loudly:

"Long Er, you really are a cute little child.

I wish to adopt you as my foster son; I wonder if you are willing?"

The Supreme stared at Long Er, and Duan Fengyun and the others were also staring at Long Er at the same time.

They all wanted to see what decision Long Er would make.

"Supreme, I am sorry.

I, Long Er, only have one dad, and that is Duan Fengyun."

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Long Er answered the Supreme's question without even thinking.

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