Jiangbei.
A posthouse.
Ever since Xiao Xuanye had taken up residence here, the entire area had been seized by his Valiant Camp. Without permission, not even a fly could enter.
All the high-ranking nobles and wealthy elites were scrambling to get here, bringing valuable gifts with them. To be granted an audience by Xiao Xuanye was considered an imnse fortune. Of course, it was fine if they couldn't et him; the intention was what counted.
The Wang Dengke family had also arrived. Wang Shouben felt a pang of disappointnt. He had fantasized that the great Chief Xiao would visit their Wang Family estate, but instead, he had chosen this dilapidated posthouse. Of course, no matter how disappointed he was, he didn't dare show the slightest hint of it.
He took out the Battle Dragon Command Token and respectfully handed it to the guard, hoping to be allowed inside to et Xiao Xuanye. He didn't think Chief Xiao would refuse to see him. After all, he was the hero who had first reported the whereabouts of the Mu Clan remnants. Wasn't it only natural that Chief Xiao would summon him for questioning?
Wang Dengke and Wang Shouzhen also stood with their chests puffed out. Seeing the envious glances from the other nobles and elites, they felt a wave of exhilaration wash over them, as if they had just eaten a mythical Ginsengfruit.
"I'm so envious of the Wang Family!"
"I heard the Wang Family's eldest young master works directly under Chief Xiao."
"When one person succeeds, their whole circle rises with them..."
The crowd whispered amongst themselves.
Upon seeing the Battle Dragon Command Token, the guard's icy expression softened slightly. "Oh, a brother-in-arms. Please wait a mont."
He went inside to report and returned shortly.
Wang Shouben quickly smoothed his clothes and greeted the guard with a smile, about to step inside.
The guard, however, blocked him with an arm. "Continue waiting for now."
"Ugh—" Wang Shouben's smile froze on his face. Wang Shouzhen and the others nearly stumbled in shock. The expressions on the faces of the onlookers beca subtle.
The next mont, another man erged from inside and scanned the crowd. The first words out of his mouth were an invitation for the Shen Family's son-in-law, Lin Tang, to enter!
His announcent stunned everyone. They simply couldn't understand. What qualifications did a good-for-nothing have to capture the great Xiao Xuanye's attention?
"Could he be admired for his dical skills?"
"Don't tell Chief Xiao is injured or ill?"
"Pah! Don't jinx it! How could a man like Chief Xiao possibly..."
The faces of the Wang Family mbers turned ashen. It wasn't surprising that Xiao Xuanye wanted to see Lin Tang, but to bypass Wang Shouben, one of his own direct subordinates…
Damn it, don't tell Lin Tang is going to use this to ride Chief Xiao's coattails? If that happens, how will I ever get my revenge? Wang Shouzhen, who hated Lin Tang to the bone, seethed with anxiety.
Shen Xin's family of four had received the news a step late and were just arriving. As they got out of their car carrying gifts, they vaguely heard the words "Shen Family" from a distance and froze.
"Which Shen Family? It couldn't be ours, could it? We're the first ones Chief Xiao wants to see?"
"Hahaha, wonderful, truly wonderful!"
"Could it be that word of our new dicine reached Chief Xiao's ears, and he wants to test its effects?"
"My god... If we get Chief Xiao's approval, maybe even strike a deal, wouldn't our Shen Family be able to strut around with impunity?!"
Once the reality set in, they were all ecstatic. They hurried over, and seeing everyone watching them with envy and jealousy, they beca even more certain they were the ones Chief Xiao wanted to summon!
"The Shen Family is here, we're here to pay our respects to the esteed Chief Xiao..." Shen Xin said, bowing and scraping.
Dong Mingfeng quickly told Lu Zizheng to hold the gifts carefully so he wouldn't accidentally drop them. She felt quite smug about her foresight; she had brought samples of their new dicine as a gift. If she hadn't, and Chief Xiao had wanted to witness the effects for himself, they would have had to waste ti going back to get them. That would have been a terrible slight.
"You're the Shen Family? Which one of you is the son-in-law?" the guard asked, looking them over.
"That's ! !" Lu Zizheng blurted out, his fat jiggling. He was dumbfounded. He never expected that he was the one Chief Xiao had specifically requested to see.
Wang Shouzhen was about to make a sarcastic comnt to point out that they wanted to see the Shen Family's *other* son-in-law, Lin Tang, not this fat pig. But Wang Shouben shot him a look and tugged his arm, silently telling him to shut up. Seeing this, the others in the crowd also held their tongues in a mont of shared, unspoken understanding.
And so… Lu Zizheng was actually allowed inside.
Shen Jiayue and her parents tried to follow but were stopped at the entrance.
"Huh?"
They were completely baffled but withered under the guard's cold glare, not daring to ask any questions. All they could do was watch helplessly.
The deeper Lu Zizheng walked, the tighter the security beca. He was particularly unnerved by the many weapon muzzles aid directly at him, their handlers seemingly unconcerned about an accidental discharge. A cold sweat broke out across his body. By the ti he reached the main hall, he felt like a boneless heap of mud, so nervous he could barely breathe.
He cautiously raised his head and saw a middle-aged man sitting and reading a book. He was both tall and imposing, yet possessed a refined, scholarly air.
This man was the Battle Dragon, Xiao Xuanye!
As Lu Zizheng's gaze fell upon his face, Xiao Xuanye seed to sense it and abruptly looked up. In that instant, his stare was like the blade of a knife, incredibly sharp and piercing.
"Ah!"
A sharp pain shot through Lu Zizheng's eyes, and tears welled up involuntarily. He hastily dropped to the ground and kowtowed. "Greetings, Chief Xiao! Greetings, Chief Xiao!"
He was drenched in sweat and trembling like a leaf in the wind. His utter loss of composure caused Xiao Xuanye to frown slightly. He had originally intended to ask a few questions himself, but now he had completely lost interest. He gave a slight wave to the aide-de-camp standing beside him.
"Yes, sir!" The aide-de-camp saluted, then strode over to Lu Zizheng. Looking down from on high, he barked, "I'll ask the questions, you'll give the answers! Tell a single lie, and I'll execute you on the spot. Understood?!"
"Understood! Please, ask away! I'll tell you everything I know," Lu Zizheng stamred.
The aide-de-camp looked at him with disgust and continued to shout, "I'm asking you, how did you conspire with the Mu Clan? Are you one of their accomplices?"
"The Mu Clan? Who's that? I… I don't know them at all! How could I be an accomplice?" Lu Zizheng asked blankly.
"You dare lie to my face?" the aide-de-camp roared, drawing his weapon and aiming it at Lu Zizheng's head.
"Oh God, spare ! Spare ! I really don't know them, you have the wrong man!" Lu Zizheng shrieked, nearly soiling himself in terror.
"Lin Tang, are you truly so stubborn?!" The aide-de-camp flicked off the safety and prepared to pull the trigger.
Lu Zizheng continued to wail, then suddenly froze. "Lin Tang? Aah! I'm not Lin Tang! My na is Lu Zizheng! You're interrogating the wrong person!"
In his heart, he silently cursed eighteen generations of Lin Tang's ancestors. How dare he provoke even Xiao Xuanye, dragging him into this terrible ss!
"Hmph!" Xiao Xuanye's expression darkened.
The aide-de-camp's face paled. He couldn't believe his well-trained n would make such a foolish mistake and let an impostor in.
"Insolence! You have so nerve, impersonating soone to make a fool of us! n, drag him out and give him thirty lashes with the military canes!"
Two soldiers imdiately entered and dragged the squealing Lu Zizheng away.
The aide-de-camp dropped to one knee before Xiao Xuanye, his face burning with sha. "My apologies, sir."
Xiao Xuanye closed his book on military strategy, his tone indifferent. "I want to see Lin Tang here within half an hour."
"Yes, sir!" The aide-de-camp rose and went outside himself.
When he got there, he slapped the guards hard across the face before they could even salute. "You blind idiots! What kind of riffraff did you just let in?"
Dong Mingfeng and her family were about to approach and curry favor when they heard his words and froze in bewildered shock.
"Riffraff?"
"He isn't talking about Lu Zizheng, is he?"
"What the hell did that bastard do to infuriate this big shot?"
Only when they learned it was a case of mistaken identity did they finally understand. It was all because of that lingering curse, Lin Tang!
Wang Shouzhen and the others had known this would happen and were openly gloating. The guards, anwhile, apologized profusely, then turned their anger on Dong Mingfeng's family.
"Enough! Stop wasting ti," the aide-de-camp cut them off, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "Who is Lin Tang? Step forward now!"
The crowd was silent.
Finally, Wang Shouben stepped forward and saluted. "Sir! Lin Tang is not here. However, since they are his parents-in-law, they can definitely contact him." He pointed at Shen Xin and Dong Mingfeng.
The pair panicked and hastily tried to distance themselves, claiming they had severed all ties with Lin Tang long ago. They said they'd gone so far as to kick their own daughter out and even forced the family patriarch, Shen Qiushi, to formally divide the household. They, too, assud Lin Tang had caused so monuntal disaster to have offended Chief Xiao, and they were terrified of being implicated.
The aide-de-camp's temples throbbed. "Cut the crap and give his phone number. Don't tell you don't even have that?"
They really didn't. They had no choice but to give him Shen Youling's number.
The aide-de-camp dialed it with a grim expression. The call connected. When Shen Youling heard him introduce himself, she was completely stunned. When did Lin Tang make an enemy of the Battle Dragon Camp? He said he went out to kill soone last night... don't tell he killed one of their people? And now they've already tracked him down to hold him accountable?!
Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She was torn, unsure whether she should give him up.
"Speak!" the aide-de-camp roared impatiently.
Shen Youling took a deep breath. "I'll call him right away and tell him to go over…"
She wasn't at the hotel at the mont, so she was so distance away from Lin Tang.
"That's enough. Just give his number!" the aide-de-camp snapped, his patience wearing thin.
"It's better if I call him," Shen Youling insisted. She knew Lin Tang's foul temper and worried that if this man contacted him directly, his abrasive tone would only make Lin Tang angrier.
"I'm giving you ten seconds to tell his number! For every second you're late, I'll execute your parents!"
"Youling! Youling, save us! I don't want to die!"
"He's asking for the number, just give it to him! Are you a stupid pig? What are you stalling for?"
Shen Xin and Dong Mingfeng shrieked into the phone one after another. Hearing their familiar voices, Shen Youling's expression turned pained, and she reluctantly recited the number.
The aide-de-camp jotted it down and dialed imdiately.
When the call connected, Lin Tang answered with a distracted "Yeah?"
"Is this Lin Tang? Good. You have twenty-five minutes to get to the posthouse and report to Chief Xiao of the Battle Dragon Camp."
"What the hell? Battle Dragon who? I don't know any Xiao. Report to you, my ass. You're probably so overseas scamr. Do you think I'm an idiot? Piss off!"
"How dare you!"
"You have the audacity—"
"You—"
CLICK.
Lin Tang simply hung up.
The aide-de-camp was so furious his vision went red and smoke felt like it was pouring from his ears. He gritted his teeth and bellowed, "Hang Lin Tang's parents-in-law up and flog them! That bastard! This is absolute rebellion!"
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