“You’ve got the wrong person.” That soldier stood up without raising his head and began walking toward the tent entrance. He was evidently shocked upon coming face to face with Zhao Jundu. “How come it’s you!?”
Zhao Jundu stood there with his hands behind his back. “Why can’t it be me? Since the day you vanished, I’ve been waiting for you to use the Three Thousand Flying Leaves art on me. The many paths of the great dao lead to the same destination. If you divine me, I will know where you are.”
Startled, the soldier frowned. “How is that even possible?”
“Of course it is. Your art is far from perfect!”
The soldier straightened his posture with a sigh. Despite his ordinary appearance, the temperament with which he carried himself was evident. He sized Zhao Jundu up from head to toe, saying, “Fourth Young Noble surprisingly possesses such talents. You’ve truly hidden your powers well.”
Zhao Jundu smiled faintly. “I had no choice. I don’t have a lot of schemes, so I need to leave a hidden ace to deal with you diviners.”
Song Zining removed his mask with a sigh. “Who would’ve thought that whatever you had displayed isn’t your limit just yet. The number one genius of the empire truly lives up to his name.”
“I wouldn’t dare claim the number one spot in front of the Seventh Young Noble. By the way, where are you moving to right now?” Zhao Jundu stared at Song Zining with a peculiar smile.
Song Zining laughed wryly. “Fourth Young Master, please speak directly.”
Zhao Jundu held back no longer. “Fine, I’m in need of men. Don’t go, help me fight.”
Song Zining was dazed. “Your Zhao clan has as many champions as there are hairs on an ox. Why would you need me?”
“We weren’t lacking at first, but now we are.”
Song Zining sighed. “What if I say no?”
Zhao Jundu smiled coldly. “Then I might get rough. You won’t get your way here, it’s useless even if you scream your lungs out.”
Song Zining’s expression was livid. Moments later, he said through clenched teeth, “I insist on leaving. If the Fourth Young Noble must resort to violence, then let’s fight!”
Zhao Jundu broke into laughter. “You hesitated for so long. You’ve already lost your momentum, so you’ll definitely lose even if we fight. Why take the trouble? Just follow me obediently, and I won’t make things very difficult for you.”
Song Zining shook his head.
This time, it was Zhao Jundu’s turn to be surprised. He glanced at the almost-packed luggage and asked, “Can you tell me where you’re going?”
“… The neutral lands.”
“The neutral lands!?” This answer surprised Zhao Jundu quite a bit. After a moment of pondering, he decided to probe a bit. “Why, though?”
“To earn money.” Song Zining replied instantly.
Zhao Jundu felt a wave of frustration hit his chest. “… When has your Song clan ever lacked money!?”
“The Song clan is the Song clan, and I am myself. The clan has money, but that doesn’t mean I have money. Besides, I have no more association with the Song clan. The Ningyuan Group is my actual foundation, so I have to try my best!” Song Zining actually managed to turn a string of groundless words into a righteous and confident speech.
Zhao Jundu’s response was also quite direct. Beams of green energy surged up from his head as he said, “I can’t outspeak you, but I can outfight you.”
Song Zining was helpless and restrained in all aspects. Especially when the fourth young noble had no intention to speak reason, whatever he said would only fall on deaf ears. Song Zining might be able to escape if this were any other person, but Zhao Jundu’s Omniscient Seal specialized in preventing escapes—those who couldn’t defeat Zhao Jundu could forget about fleeing. The fourth young noble, on the other hand, was relatively carefree, able to fight if he wanted or leave if he so wished.
And even if Song Zining could go all out with his domain and confuse Zhao Jundu momentarily, there was still a True Shot awaiting him.
After thinking back and forth, Song Zining actually found no good way to resolve this problem short of defeating Zhao Jundu head-on. Even after defeating the opponent, he had no way to catch Zhao Jundu because his speed would be greatly discounted under the effects of the Omniscient Seal.
Song Zining felt more and more frustrated. Losing his composure at one point, he mocked, “Zhou Fourth Young Noble is indeed the number one genius of the empire! I just realized that your proficient powers make you more or less a hoodlum. You occupy a position of sure victory and refuse to give people like me a way out!”
Zhao Jundu laughed heartily. “Thanks for the compliment!”
Seeing Zhao Jundu being so frank about not giving him a fair fight, Song Zining knew that he had no way out of this. He heaved a long sigh, saying, “I’m going to the neutral lands to check up on Qianye.”
Zhao Jundu’s stopped his laughter and asked seriously, “Qianye is in the neutral lands?”
“Yes.”
Zhao Jundu paced about the tent with his hands behind his back. “You’ve known that for a long time, right? Why go now?”
“It’s not easy to leave Marshal Zhang’s employ. I had to wait a good while for this opportunity. Besides, everyone knows I’m on good terms with Qianye. People from the military have been watching my every move, so I have to be careful.”
“Why now all of a sudden?”
Song Zining sighed. “I don’t know why, but Qianye has been catching a lot of eyes lately. He’s fought several head-on battles in the neutral lands and even announced his real name. This isn’t his usual style, there must be something going on there. I have to go and take a look. You know how impetuous this fellow is, he practically threw his life away against the Demoness.”
Zhao Jundu glared fixedly at Song Zining. “I believe he also took a shot for a certain person on the battlefield, he’s quite dumb.”
The temperature in the tent fell sharply. Sparks flew about as the two parties commenced a stare-down, feeling more and more displeased with one another.
But as characters working on big important matters, they knew how to restrain themselves. Both of them quickly put away their emotions with a cold snort.
Zhao Jundu said with a smile, “Since the Seventh Young Noble is heading to the neutral lands, then I won’t stop you anymore. It just so happens that a number of my subordinates are taking a stroll over there. Why don’t you take them along with you and let those brutes witness the demeanor of the future god of warfare.”
Song Zining was startled. “You’re sending people to the neutral lands at such a time? How about the war here? It’ll be a big deal if the battlefront here collapses.”
Zhao Jundu said indifferently, “Don’t worry about the war situation, I still have some tricks up my sleeve. On the contrary, there’s a solid reason to send people over to the neutral lands. If you’re too idle, you can help me kill a certain person.”
“Who?”
Zhao Jundu passed Song Zining the military intelligence. The latter surged with killing intent as he glanced through its contents, and then a flame flickered on his palm, burning the paper away entirely.
“There’s an identical missive heading for the Imperial Capital. I’ve intercepted that one too.”
Song Zining remained silent for a moment before saying, “I’ve heard of this Lu Saobei, he’s quite the scheming fellow. I’m afraid Fourth Young Noble has miscalculated. These two routes are definitely decoys for you to intercept. He definitely has a third, secret messenger, and that’s the true route of his message. I fear the intelligence report is already on the other party’s desk by now.”
Zhao Jundu replied indifferently, “Who cares, I’m sending my men over to kill Lu Saobei and wipe out the next batch of military soldiers in passing. With the Seventh Young Noble overseeing this operation, I’ll be even more at ease. People like you scheme too much and kill too little.”
It was a mystery just what Song Zining was thinking. He shook his head with a sigh, saying, “So does that mean you don’t object to me heading to the neutral lands?”
“Of course not. On the contrary, I should even support you!” With that, Zhao Jundu fished out an exquisitely decorated purse and weighed it in his hand before tossing it into Song Zining’s backpack. “Seventh Young Noble, some pocket money for the road, use it sparingly!”
With that, Zhao Jundo left with a lingering peal of laughter.
Song Zining gazed at the wallet and couldn’t help but spew out some profanities. The purse was of the highest quality and there was no fault to find with its craftsmanship. The problem was that it was too small and couldn’t fit much money even if it were full of gold coins. Such small purses were made for young masters and misses to keep some pocket change; it was only natural that it couldn’t hold much.
The money inside wasn’t even enough to buy a ticket to the neutral lands. If Song Zining were to use this budget as his travel expenses, he wouldn’t reach the neutral lands even if he slept in the cargo hold.
And he even said something about spending it slowly? Spend like a beggar more like.
Song Zining chuckled after noticing the golden “Zhao” character embroidered on the purse. Thinking of a scheme, he muttered to himself, “This is Zhao Jundu’s personal item! I’m sure those noble ladies will be willing to pay a high price for this! I’ll let Zhao Jundu gain some fame after my return, heh heh!”
It was getting late at this point, so Song Zining picked up his backpack and left. At a time like this, an insignificant soldier like him was far from eye-catching. Even if someone did notice him, they were all too lazy to inquire about his business in detail. Moments later, Song Zining had blended into the dark night and disappeared.
…
Meanwhile, a certain airship had just landed at a small sport in the neutral lands. This place was old, simple, and in evident decline, with no building in the entire town taller than three stories. The people shuttling through the streets wore fierce expressions as they sized up their surroundings like they would a prey.
This wasn’t an official port, but a grey zone among grey zones. Some characters who couldn’t even make a living in the neutral lands would choose to stop over in such places and begin a new life here.
Every arriving airship meant more riches. Most people would vanish mysteriously after alighting from their vessels, almost as though they had never appeared here. And no one here cared about their fate, either.
As usual, the arrival of this airship excited the small town. People from all walks of life gathered around the airship port, scanning the arriving passengers with blood-thirsty eyes.
Some passengers were scared witless as they left the airship, trembling in fear and hugging their luggage tightly. Others would return cold, bloodthirsty glares full of killing intent. After most of the passengers had gone off, a young girl in a white dress appeared from the cabin, causing an immediate stir in the surrounding crowd!
