Chapter 1082: Being Controlled by Others (Part )

It was nearly four o'clock in the morning, and the Luoyang General's Mansion was dark and quiet. Only the east wing was brightly lit, with shadows swaying and conversations coming from time to time.

"It's almost time. You don't need to wait for me, go down and have a rest!"

"But the general has ordered..."

"If General Luoyang blames you, you can say that it was Yan who insisted on not letting you serve him. Tell him that I already understand the good intentions of General Luoyang's Mansion. In fact, a group of Han people gathered in Luoyang City to hold a "traitor-killing conference"... It's not a big deal. The Khan is busy with all kinds of affairs, and all the cases on his desk are military and national affairs. Yan will not bother him with such a small matter. Tell General Luoyang not to worry about it. However... If something similar happens again in the future, I hope General Luoyang can take the initiative to report it and be careful to prevent any accidents. After all, these people in the martial arts world are all skilled, and three or five of them can... It's not something to be afraid of, but thousands of them gathered together... there's no guarantee that there won't be trouble. Yan expected that these Han people would not always end as smoothly as the "Eradication of Traitors Conference", and you would not always be so lucky. Most Han people are good at calculating. They usually give you some "small favors", and sooner or later they will ask you to return them tenfold or a hundredfold. Therefore, as the "masters" of Luoyang City, you must know what favors you can and cannot accept. Don't be sold out without knowing it, or even foolishly count money for others. "

"Fortunately, you have spies in Danfeng Garden. This time, let's just take it as a way to atone for our crime and don't bother about it. Tell your general that not all money can be put into his pocket. Be careful that he may earn it but not spend it!"

"I've made note of it! We will convey the 'advice' from Master Yan Ling and Hu Da Dangtou to the general word for word."

"Go down!"

"Please take your seats, my lords. I will take my leave."

"squeak!"

After the greetings, the door opened. Then, four servants dressed in plain clothes came out from the side hall, stood outside the door and bowed repeatedly towards the hall, and then carefully closed the door again.

In the side hall, in addition to Yan Wuji, Long Yu and Ya Kun, the three leaders of the Northern Hu Ma Gang, Hu Zhen, Huo Biao and Qiu Zheng, were also present.

Not long ago, they went south to the Central Plains on the orders of the Mongolian Khan, specifically to help Yan Wuji.

"This Luoyang general is clearly a good-for-nothing who only cares about money. Letting such a man guard a region for the Khan... It's embarrassing but it's a big deal to miss the chance to fight. Why don't you kill this rat-like fool?"

Long Yu, with a lazy look on his face, leaned his body against the chair, with his legs raised high and folded on the tea table beside him. In his hand, he was playing with a dagger that shone with cold light, and from time to time he slowly ran his fingers across the blade, the calluses on his fingers rubbing against the sharp blade back and forth, making a slight but very harsh "chi chi" sound.

"The Khan has been raising armies constantly over the years, and has indeed trained many capable generals. There is no shortage of brave soldiers and generals to lead the troops, but it is difficult to find talents to defend the city and support the people." Yan Wuji smiled bitterly, "Now, even the available talents in Wan'an Palace are stretched to the limit, let alone here? If we rashly execute this general, we won't be able to find a suitable replacement in a short period of time. Wouldn't that add to the Khan's troubles?"

"Although General Luoyang is stupid and greedy, he is at least loyal to the Khan." Hu Zhen continued, "He neither concealed nor shirked his responsibilities in front of us, and he obeyed our orders and worked hard without complaint. He is repentant. Just now, Lord Yanling and I used both soft and hard tactics, and used both kindness and force. I believe he will be more restrained in the future."

Seeing Hu Zhen speak, Long Yu raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "What does the Khan mean by sending you here suddenly? Does he think... that we can't handle the affairs of the Central Plains?"

"You don't have to insinuate. We understand the principle of 'more incense burners, more ghosts'." Huo Biao argued in a deep voice, "Don't worry! We are only here to help, and we won't steal the credit from you."

Long Yu smiled contemptuously, his words mercilessly: "We have already arranged everything here, what can you do to help?"

"Long Yu, you..."

"All right!"

Seeing Long Yu's sarcastic tone and Huo Biao unwilling to be outdone, Yan Wuji's face changed and he interrupted the argument impatiently: "As long as we complete the task assigned by the Khan, everyone will get credit. If we mess up the task... everyone present will suffer the consequences."

"What happened to Yun Zhuiyue?" Hu Zhen had no intention of getting entangled with Long Yu because of Yan Wuji's favor, so he took the opportunity to change the subject, "Did the letter not get delivered? Or did Yun Zhuiyue break the appointment on purpose?"

"He will definitely come." Yan Wuji remained calm and steady, "Don't worry, just wait a little longer."

"It's hard to say!" Long Yu teased leisurely, "This time I finally see through Yun Zhuiyue's true colors. He only thinks about women. He forgets everything when he sees Xiao Zhirou. He is obsessed with love and will never achieve anything great. Sooner or later, he will die at the hands of a woman."

"I think so too." When talking about Yun Zhuiyue, Huo Biao, who was also full of contempt, agreed with Long Yu's opinion without hesitation, "Don't look at him as the leader of a faction. In fact, he has no position at all, let alone credibility. At the beginning, he kept saying 'yes' and 'obey your command' in front of Master Yan Ling, but when he saw Xiao Zhirou, he was immediately bewitched. As for the serious matter entrusted by Master Yan Ling... he had already thrown it out of his mind."

"You can't be too honest when dealing with these two-faced Han people. The losses we have suffered at their hands over the years have become more and more frustrating." Qiu Zheng sneered, "As the saying goes, 'Every failure makes you wiser.' Fortunately, this time, Lord Yan Ling made a feint to the east and attacked in the west, and only tested Yun Zhuiyue, and did not pin the 'real business' on him, otherwise we would have failed again. I don't know if General Sui Zuo's mission will go smoothly..."

"Are you the smartest person in the world?"

Before Qiu Zheng finished speaking, Yan Wuji, with a gloomy face, suddenly asked a question full of displeasure, which immediately stunned Qiu Zheng, who was still talking nonstop, and the next words that were about to come out of his mouth also stopped abruptly.

"What does Lord Yanling mean by this..."

"Third brother, are you just showing off how much you know? Don't you think about where this place is? What are Lord Yan Ling and the others doing? We can place spies in Danfeng Garden, but there is no guarantee that this general's mansion won't have ears. What the hell are you yelling about?" "This..." Qiu Zheng, who was confused, suddenly realized after being reminded by Huo Biao, and his face instantly became extremely ugly, "Lord Yan Ling, actually I..."

"Alright!" Yan Wuji interrupted Qiu Zheng's explanation absentmindedly and said calmly, "From now on, just drink tea and don't talk."

After he finished speaking, the noisy side hall gradually became silent.

Yan Wuji closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, Long Yu was still playing with the dagger, and the sleepy Ya Kun curled up beside him and snored from time to time. Only Hu Zhen, Huo Biao, and Qiu Zheng, who were still frightened, looked at each other with complicated thoughts.

Just like that, the deathly silence lasted for who knows how long. When the candlelight in the side hall burned down halfway, a barely audible sound came from the empty roof, which immediately made Yan Wuji open his eyes, and also cheered up Long Yu, Hu Zhen and others who were distracted.

Suddenly, four dark shadows hung upside down from the beam outside the side hall, broke open the window, and scurried in like rabbits.

Then, the tightly closed door was gently pushed open. Yun Zhuiyue, wearing a golden mask and a black robe, appeared in front of Yan Wuji and the others as if strolling in the garden.

"Master Yan Ling, you really picked a good place for a secret meeting."

As soon as they met, there was no extra greeting between the two sides. Yun Zhuiyue directly expressed her dissatisfaction to Yan Wuji. Although there was a hint of complaint in her words, her tone was calm and peaceful.

“Hehe… A mere Luoyang General’s Mansion is definitely not enough to stop the arrival of Saint Yun. As for those thieves outside the General’s Mansion, Saint Yun will not take them seriously.”

While he was talking, Yan Wuji, who was beaming with joy, had already stood up to greet him. He bowed to Yun Zhuiyue with great satisfaction and said, "I have long known who Saint Yun is. He is a hero who keeps his word and is willing to face danger head-on. I am also an ally of mine and a close friend. Not to mention that this is the General's Mansion in Luoyang, even the Eighteen Layers of Hell will not be able to stop Saint Yun. He will definitely overcome all difficulties and keep the appointment on time. They didn't believe it just now, what do you think? Do you believe it now? Haha..."

"That's true." Hu Zhen agreed with a fake smile, "A general's mansion and three or five thieves. If Saint Yun can't even handle this little trouble... it's unworthy of the status of the Saint Lord of Longxiang Mountain."

"What did you say?"

Seeing Yan Wuji and Hu Zhen singing the same tune and taking turns to mock Yun Zhuiyue, Si Wudao, Tang Xuan, Wuming and Shao Yuanqing all turned pale with cold eyes.

Among them, the hot-tempered Shao Yuanqing reacted most violently. He pointed at Hu Zhen without any hesitation and shouted, "Where did you come from, you bastard? How dare you speak nonsense here!"

"boom!"

"Where did you come from, you bastard?"

As soon as Shao Yuanqing finished speaking, Huo Biao flew into a rage and slammed the table and stood up.

"I am Shao Yuanqing, the 'Evil Tiger of Nanshan'. Do you want to fight me?"

Shao Yuanqing glared at Hu Zhen and the other two with bloodthirsty eyes. He swung the huge copper hammer in the air, making a terrifying whistling sound.

"I'll stay with you till the end..."

"presumptuous!"

Before the furious Huo Biao could accept the challenge, Yan Wuji's eyes suddenly turned cold. He took a step seemingly carelessly, but he stepped out a dent in the ground. The seven or eight tiles around it cracked rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and then shattered into powder with a "bang" without any warning.

Seeing this scene, Shao Yuanqing, who was rubbing his hands in preparation, and Huo Biao, who was eager to try, were both stunned.

Tang Xuan and Si Wudao hurried forward and dragged the aggressive Shao Yuanqing behind them without explanation. At Hu Zhen's signal, Qiu Zheng also forced the murderous Huo Biao back to his seat.

From beginning to end, Yun Zhuiyue didn't move, didn't utter a word, and didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Saint Lord Yun, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you." Yan Wuji's fierce aura came quickly, but it faded even faster. In a flash, his face was once again filled with a false smile. He turned slightly sideways and waved his hand towards the hall, "The tea is ready, please take a seat!"

……

(End of this chapter)