by Zhi Bai
Chapter 91 - Lu Kuan
An Zheng looked at Chen Zaiyan who had a strange expression on his face, feeling that there was something wrong with this Vice Minister. But because he did not know this person, An Zheng could not tell what was wrong with him.
"You … "I'll let you down for another two days."
Chen Zaiyan personally poured a cup of wine for An Zheng, then smiled. But behind this smile, there was something that made An Zheng's hair stand on end. An Zheng was sure that it was not a threat and that Chen Zaiyan did not want to kill him. And that horror was something inexplicable.
Chen Zaiyan leaned back and let out a long breath, revealing his exhaustion, "I need a young man like you. The army needs a young man like you, and the great swallow needs a young man like you. To you, this is a sort of experiential learning. After this event, you will be more mature in the future. Although your advice to the President is very good, and you can smoothly resolve this crisis, there is no doubt that your actions are a bit too impulsive. "
An Zheng drank his wine and did not speak.
Chen Zaiyan said, "Tomorrow, the citizens' attention will be attracted to the Open Martial Academy. The commoners were all curious about the Martial Arts Academy and wanted to see what it looked like.
An Zheng said: "Vice Minister, did you think of this idea?"
Chen Zaiyan nodded his head, "It's actually very easy to calm the anger of a commoner. Most people just drift along. Have you ever seen a flock of sheep? There was a ditch in front, and the sheep jumped over it. The sheep behind didn't know there was a ditch, but they would jump too. As a result, some sheep jump too early and fall into the ditch. They didn't jump because they saw the ditch, but because the sheep jumped. What is this? This is blind obedience. "
"According to your method, calming the anger of the people will be slightly slower. I invited the most powerful people among the commoners to the Martial Arts Academy. I told them that the Martial Arts Academy was fair and respectful. The commoners are actually... Allow me to use the word humble. Why would those lambs dare to cause trouble? It was because there were so many people. They did make use of the advantage in numbers, but once I invited them to the martial academy and sat down face to face with me to discuss matters, they would recover to their lowly state. In other words, they were flattered when I saw them. "
Chen Zaiyan continued: "They will quickly become my people, and then, they will return to the common people. Take these people into the Martial Arts Academy … After that, the conflict over this matter was moved. Some people followed the head sheep to the Martial Arts Academy to visit, and the conflict was transferred to curiosity. To them, this was a very special game. In just two or three days, all of their attention will have changed. "
An Zheng suddenly wanted to applaud, but due to his respect for Chen Zaiyan, he did not do so.
Chen Zaiyan was indeed an expert at reading people's minds. He was more cunning than Hao Pingan. Hao Pingan was too righteous when doing things, and because he was not from the Humble Class, he did not understand the emotions of the Humble Class. Chen Zaiyan was different. The reason he could say that commoners were lowly was because he himself had already experienced that kind of lowly state for a very long time.
Desire to be recognized, desire to have status.
"Rest well, I still need to go to the Minister's house."
Chen Zaiyan turned around and looked at the sky outside: "It's already night time. Don't worry, in at most two days, I will let you return to the Martial Arts Academy."
An Zheng shook his head. "I don't have any desire for the Martial Arts Academy, I want to return home even more."
Chen Zaiyan laughed: "You have a lot of points in your personality, this is good. Angle is something that gradually decreases with age and experience. "
When he walked to the door, someone hurriedly ran over. Chen Xi saw that it was Old Sun.
It was clear that the relationship between Old Sun and Chen Zaiyan was not like the relationship that should have existed. When Old Sun saw Chen Zaiyan, he naturally went closer to Chen Zaiyan and whispered a few words into his ear.
After Old Sun said a few words, Chen Zaiyan quickly left. Before walking out, he turned around to take a look at An Zheng, his expression a little complicated. Not knowing why, An Zheng felt that the thing in Chen Zaiyan's eyes made his hair stand on end.
He heard Old Sun ask Chen Zaiyan softly, "Should we tell him?"
Chen Zaiyan hurriedly nodded his head, "Speak, there's nothing to hide from me."
The door creaked open with a creak. Old Sun walked in front of An Zheng, and said after being silent for a while: "Anzhu … The Senior Minister has passed away. "
An Zheng stood up abruptly, and suddenly understood why he had such a creepy feeling. When he was in the Ming Fa Si, he had seen too many dangers hidden within human nature. As long as he looked at the eyes of others, he would be able to tell whether this person had done anything evil. That was not the Fiery Eyes of Truth, that was An Zheng's unique and incomparable experience.
Old Sun continued to speak on his own, saying that Hao Pingan committed suicide out of guilt. However, An Zheng's mind was only filled with the look in his eyes before Chen Zaiyan left.
The deaths of Chen Zaiyan and Hao Pingan were bound to be linked!
In an instant, An Zheng's mind was filled with that serious yet kind expression of his. It was a hard old man, but he was also a lovely old man. If the State of Yan had a few more officials like Hao Pingan, then the State of Yan would be much stronger than it was right now.
Chen Zaiyan is the empress dowager's man?
This was the second question An Zheng thought of.
Because he could not help but think of the death of the old Prime Minister Zhuge Yan and the people who were chasing and killing Li Yannian a while ago. Could it be that Hao Pingan also knew about the matter of King Da Xi Yi, Chen Zhongqi?
Yes … Hao Pingan was the Military Chief of the Military Department. On the surface, Chen Zhongqi had come to mediate the war, so he must have come into contact with Hao Pingan. And after Chen Zhongqi went missing, none of the experts from the Military Department or the Martial Academies went out to search for him. This was enough to prove that Hao Pingan knew about this.
At this moment, An Zheng's anger was about to ignite.
It had already been more than four years since he was attacked, but it was still shaking the State of Yan like an earthquake. There were three people in a row, two of whom were court officials.
An Zheng clenched his fist tightly, and then, he saw Old Sun's finger twitch slightly, as if it was twirling a crossbow.
Old Sun's eyes had been staring straight into An Zheng's eyes the entire time. It was similarly a pair of eyes that could see through one's heart, because Old Sun had already spent almost his entire life in a place like a prison.
"My condolences."
Seeing that An Zheng did not have any excessive reactions, Old Sun comforted his and then stood up.
"Mourning?"
After Old Sun left, An Zheng repeated to himself … As a member of the army, Old Sun, no matter how low of a position he held, was still a member of the army. On the other hand, he had comforted An Zheng for his grief, for this matter … Old Sun understood.
"Where's Lu Kuan?"
An Zheng suddenly shouted towards the outside.
Old Sun's footsteps paused for a moment, then he turned around and smiled, "That silly kid is cultivating."
An Zheng acknowledged: "I had originally wanted him to drink with me."
Old Sun said: "After he finishes his training, I will have him come to Anzhu."
With that, Old Sun walked away quickly.
An Zheng looked at the dishes on the table and laughed coldly. With Master Shang Shu dead, Lu Kuan still had time to cultivate? Even though there was a huge difference between a military president and a prison warden, the entire army head would definitely be a mess. How could Lu Kuan have the mood to train?
Lu Kuan was obviously not cultivating.
Lu Kuan was killing people.
The Division of Martial Arts of the Military Department, Li Zhenglian, rushed home in a hurry. He then changed his clothes and rushed to the residence of Master Shang Shu. He ignored his wife's question and walked into the room with an extremely unsightly expression, closing the door behind him.
After he entered, he sat in a chair and stared blankly for a while before getting up to change his clothes. When he turned around, he saw a very black man with a very honest face standing not far away.
"You … "Who are you!"
Li Zhengli asked and was about to call for help.
Lu Kuan stepped forward as he pulled out a steel wire from his sleeves and wrapped it around Li Zhengli's neck, and then tightened it. Li Zhengli could barely breathe. His face turned purple.
"Write a few words, and I'll forgive you."
Lu Kuan's ice-cold voice sounded in Li Zhengli's ears, just like a cold sneer from the god of death.
Li Zhengli was on the verge of losing consciousness. His desire to survive made him walk to the table and pick up the pen.
"Write..." Cough cough, what are you writing? "
"It's enough to write six words. I will follow him until he dies."
"I won't!"
Li Zheng suddenly reacted and struggled again. Lu Kuan said impatiently: "Since you are not willing, then I will write it down for you."
His hand tightened, and a moment later the steel wire was almost in Li Zhengli's neck. A short while later, Li Zhengli's aura stopped. Lu Kuan found a sheet in the house and tore it open, tying it to a rope to wrap it around the house beam. Then, he hung Li Zhengzhi's body on the bed. He sat at his desk and opened the book that Li Zhengli had written before. He took out his pen and copied a few words, then he wrote the words "Life-Follower" on a piece of white paper. After cleaning up the place, Lu Kuan left Li Zhengli's house like a ghost.
Less than an hour later, in another middle-aged man's house in the Military Department, Lu Kuan had killed him using the same method.
After that, Lu Kuan rushed to the Shang Shu Manor, it was already packed full of people, all the officials in the imperial court who had heard the news had all come. Swallow King Mu Changyan was accompanying Hao Pingan's wife inside the house talking. It was said that the empress dowager was also on her way here.
When Chen Zaiyan saw Lu Kuan appearing within the crowd, he unhurriedly moved to that place. Lu Kuan hid in the shadows and spoke in a low voice behind Chen Zaiyan. "The few people that the empress dowager placed into the army department have all been eliminated, the people from the martial academy will be dealt with later."
Chen Zaiyan said: "There's no rush, tomorrow morning I will transfer these people to the prison of the Ministry of Justice. I already told His Majesty, if Lord Shang Shu is going, I will not have time to meddle in other matters, so I will hand the case over to the Ministry of Justice. "The empress dowager controlled the Ministry of Justice. You should go to the Ministry of Justice's prison and kill those people from the dojo. No one else would have thought that it was the military who took action and thought that the empress dowager was trying to silence them."
Lu Kuan nodded his head: "This subordinate understands, and will be going back first."
Chen Zaiyan acknowledged him, and said after hesitating for a moment: "If … If anything happens to An Zheng, get rid of him. "
Lu Kuan was obviously startled for a moment: "But, but didn't Master say that you want to use An Zheng again?"
Chen Zaiyan said: "His eyes... It's as if he can see through everything. If he knows the truth, he might do me a disservice. "
Lu Kuan said: "Then this subordinate will kill him when I return."
Chen Zaiyan shook his head: "No, just let your master stare at An Zheng. If he doesn't have any reactions, then this person still needs to be used. I think a lot of him. I think a lot of him. "
A hint of jealousy flashed past Lu Kuan's eyes, and then, he retreated, disappearing into the darkness.
Military cell.
It was midnight when Lu Kuan returned.
He pushed open the door and walked in. An Zheng lied on the bed as if he was asleep.
"Anzhu?"
Lu Kuan called out softly as he rolled over in a daze: "Who is it?"
Lu Kuan walked over with his hands behind his back, and the steel wire was slowly pulled out from his sleeves. I heard that Anzhu was looking for me? "
Chapter 92 - Finger Bone
Lu Kuan pulled out the thin steel wire from his sleeve with his hand behind his back. There seemed to be a special device in his sleeve that could coil wires. When you let go, the wire retracts itself.
There were two empty wine jugs on the floor, and the dishes on the table were all in a mess. An Zheng's entire body reeked of alcohol, and he vaguely fell on the bed as he assented. Then, he groped his way to get ready.
A hint of hesitation appeared in Lu Kuan's eyes, but when he heard Chen Zaiyan's words once again in his mind that he regarded him very highly, Lu Kuan's face became sinister.
Why don't you care about me?
Lu Kuan roared in his heart, and then, he strode forward and wrapped the steel wire around An Zheng's neck.
At this time, An Zheng had his back to Lu Kuan and he sat up shakily, completely unaware that Lu Kuan was about to attack him.
Just as the steel wire was about to wrap around An Zheng's neck, the previously drunk An Zheng suddenly moved like a cheetah.
An Zheng turned his back to Lu Kuan and fiercely swung his elbow backwards.
Lu Kuan didn't think that An Zheng was actually pretending to be drunk. He didn't have time to react as An Zheng's elbow heavily struck his chest. Lu Kuan groaned, he retreated backwards, but at the same time, he threw the steel wire in his hand towards An Zheng's neck.
An Zheng didn't know how Lu Kuan killed people, but he still remembered the strange and unique movements of Lu Kuan's fingers not long ago when he was drinking with Lu Kuan. The fingers of his left and right hands were twirling and rubbing, as if there was an invisible thread in them.
An Zheng rolled over and laid on the bed. The thin steel wire circled around his face. Using the force from the backflip, An Zheng's feet fiercely and quickly landed on Lu Kuan's body.
Originally, Lu Kuan was already unable to stand steadily, but after being kicked twice, he fell to the ground with a thump.
However, he quickly stood up again. His face was pale and he didn't seem to be injured at all.
An Zheng frowned slightly. Although he did not use the Cultivation Power just now in order to not attract attention, he was very clear on how much power was contained within that one elbow and two kicks. Even if cultivators were attacked directly, they would not be able to withstand it.
An Zheng looked at Lu Kuan's chest, and realized that the clothes there were a little awkward.
"Steel plates."
An Zheng said in disdain.
Lu Kuan tore open his outer garment, revealing a thick layer of steel plate inside. There was a portion of it on his chest and back, but the piece on his chest was obviously already partially caved in.
"Is this the skill that your master taught you?"
An Zheng asked.
Lu Kuan's face was extremely unsightly, especially that disdainful look of An Zheng, which seemed to be very stimulating to him.
"Yes, this is what my master taught me. Are you looking down on me?"
Lu Kuan took a deep breath, then straightened the tightrope in his hand. "That's right, you are a person with a bright future, and I am not. From the moment I entered this place, I was destined to never see the light. Like my master, I would live my life in darkness. I'd like to live a beautiful life like yours, but I don't have a chance. "Therefore, I am very jealous of people like you who would like to kill every single one of you."
He turned around to take a look, and An Zheng saw some flaws in his expression.
L
u Kuan did not dare to attract others' attention.
"So it was Chen Zaiyan who didn't tell you to kill me."
An Zheng took a step forward and looked straight into Lu Kuan's eyes: "It was you yourself who wanted to kill me."
"That's right!"
Lu Kuan rushed forward, his left hand jerked forward as a dozen or so cold dots of light swiftly pierced towards An Zheng. An Zheng flicked his wrist, and Hong Luanzan appeared in the center of his palm. He did not dodge, but instead shot down all of the cold beams of light that were shooting at him. This speed could not be described with time. If An Zheng dodged, he would immediately fall into Lu Kuan's trap.
The steel wire in Lu Kuan's hand coiled around and formed a large circle. No matter which direction An Zheng dodged to, he would still be wrapped by the steel wire.
'Pa! '
The wire broke.
Hong Luanzan's hand flashed and cut off that extremely flexible looking steel wire. That was Hong Luanzan, a Purple-Rank Divine Artifact, far superior to a steel wire.
Lu Kuan obviously did not expect An Zheng to have such a sharp weapon in his hands, and after being stunned for a moment, he became even more furious.
Fist wind!
Cultivators at the pure level had no way of using their inner Qi, unless they had some sort of special talent or luck. Only when one reaches the Sumeru Stage would one be able to transform the Cultivation Power into Qi. However, Lu Kuan's fists were extremely fierce.
When Lu Kuan was still a meter away from An Zheng, the fist wind already arrived.
An Zheng was not surprised at all, and pushed his palm forward with one hand.
The palm wind and the fist wind collided in midair, and a sound similar to a fried beans exploding appeared in the air. When the two powers met, they surged out in all directions, the candlestick and plate on the table. The bedding on the bed, the pillow. All of them were blown away by the strong wind, causing the dust on the stone wall to fly into the air.
The look in Lu Kuan's eyes clearly changed, he did not expect An Zheng to have such a cultivation.
"Are you surprised?"