lerbook #257 - Prince, please be magnanimous!
#257 - Prince, please be magnanimous!
Chapter 256: Your Highness, Please Be Tolerant!
Zhang Chen looked at the sniveling Little Bean, especially after hearing the little girl say she wanted to protect him. He wanted to laugh, but he held it back.
He had a Body Immobilization Talisman and an Invisibility Technique. A hundred Little Beans wouldn't be enough to kill him, but the Little Bean's sincerity moved him greatly.
Zhang Chen stroked Little Bean's head: "Alright! I'll take you with me."
As long as he took Little Bean down the mountain and sent her to Xie Lingyun, all the troubles would be resolved. The only thing he felt unwilling about was that he hadn't obtained the inheritance of the higher-level incantation of the Qi Refining Technique. He felt a little unwilling.
Just as Zhang Chen was about to leave with Little Bean in his arms, the Abbot appeared outside the gate, looking at the two crying their eyes out with a surprised expression: "Why are you two hugging each other and crying?"
The question broke the atmosphere. When Little Bean saw the Abbot, it was as if she had met a savior. She sobbed, "Master, there's an ugly monster who wants to kill Junior Brother."
The Abbot was stunned by the words. Zhang Chen smiled wryly and took over the conversation: "I have a deep-seated hatred with the Heir of the Prince of Pingbian, almost irreconcilable. I just met the Heir of the Prince of Pingbian, and I'm afraid he won't let it go. He insists on fighting me. This disciple doesn't want to involve the Taoist temple and is about to leave the mountain. Please grant my request, Abbot."
As Zhang Chen spoke, the magical power within his body was already circulating. If the Abbot wanted to stop him, he might have to betray his kindness and kill him.
Liu Feng was stunned by the words and looked at Zhang Chen with a face full of astonishment: "So, you're the one who is wanted by the Prince of Pingbian's mansion and ruined the Little Prince's appearance."
"It's me," Zhang Chen nodded.
"You're really audacious. The Prince of Pingbian must hate you to death, wishing he could swallow you alive, tear you apart, and burn you to ashes," Liu Feng sighed softly.
Zhang Chen smiled helplessly: "I just want to live. What's wrong with that? If he doesn't allow me to live, of course, I have to resist."
Liu Feng scratched his head upon hearing this: "This is really troublesome."
"Please, Master, clear the way and allow this disciple to go down the mountain," Zhang Chen said respectfully.
Liu Feng glared at Zhang Chen: "Go down what mountain? This is Huangli Temple, not the Prince of Pingbian's mansion. Stay in the Taoist temple and wait for my news."
Halfway through, he was a little worried, afraid that Zhang Chen would take the opportunity to run away, so he stopped and turned his head to instruct: "Don't run away before you get my message!"
After saying that, Liu Feng turned and left in a hurry, leaving Little Bean and Zhang Chen standing in place. Little Bean looked at Zhang Chen with teary eyes: "Does Master mean that he can handle this matter, and we don't have to run away?"
"I think so," Zhang Chen was a little surprised and uncertain. That Zhang Xiaohua was the Heir of the Prince of Pingbian's mansion. He was just a mere disciple of Huangli Temple. What qualifications did he have to make Huangli Temple confront the Prince of Pingbian's mansion?
For Huangli Temple, the most correct choice would be to hand him over, not to confront the Prince of Pingbian's mansion and resist to the death.
But why would Liu Feng intercede with the Prince of Pingbian?
Although Liu Feng spoke with certainty, Zhang Chen was secretly on guard and dared not be careless. He secretly urged the dragon energy to order the Fox Fairy Nannan to carry the dynamite bag towards the Taoist temple. If Zhang Xiaohua really disregarded everything and sent a large army to kill him, he would have to fight the other party to the death.
As long as experts above the Yin God level didn't appear, no one could stop him.
Let's say that Liu Feng walked out of the Taoist temple and took a shortcut to the gate at the foot of the mountain. From afar, he saw Zhang Xiaohua hurrying down the mountain, so he quickly called out to him: "Zhang Xiaohua."
"Abbot," Zhang Xiaohua was walking down the mountain with his head down. Hearing Liu Feng's call from afar, he quickly stopped and bowed to Liu Feng.
"Come with me, I have something to tell you," Liu Feng said to Zhang Xiaohua.
Zhang Xiaohua's expression changed upon hearing this, and his eyes were filled with killing intent: "Abbot, please wait a moment. This disciple found a mortal enemy in the Taoist temple. After I gather my men and kill that mortal enemy, I will come before the Abbot to await your orders."
Hearing this, the Abbot said: "I'm looking for you because of Zhang Chen's matter. I know the grievances between you and Zhang Chen, and you can't touch Zhang Chen."
Zhang Xiaohua's expression changed involuntarily, and a hint of vigilance appeared in his eyes: "Is the Abbot going to interfere in my personal grievances with Zhang Chen? Is this your intention, or the intention of the entire Taoist temple behind you?"
He was not afraid of Liu Feng. Although he was a disciple, he was the direct disciple of Gu Mingyue. In terms of seniority, he was of the same generation as Liu Feng.
Hearing Liu Feng's words and looking at Zhang Xiaohua's murderous eyes, Liu Feng smiled bitterly: "Don't be agitated. I'm stopping you not for selfish reasons. Now Huangtian Tao wants to win over Xie Lingyun and take advantage of the situation to bring down Xie Xuan, and Zhang Chen is the most important key point. As far as I know, bringing down Xie Xuan is not only the goal of my Huangtian Tao, but the Old Prince has also spent countless efforts, but still hasn't seen any results. That Xie Xuan is like a stone in a latrine, smelly and hard, and he is also loyal to the Dasheng royal family. It's as difficult as ascending to heaven to win him over. Now that we have finally found a glimmer of opportunity, this old Taoist earnestly asks the Little Prince to start from the overall situation and endure for a while."
Liu Feng's voice was full of pleading: "The Little Prince is the only heir to the Prince's mansion. He should consider the overall situation of the Prince's mansion. How can he ruin our plans because of personal grievances? There's no need for this old Taoist to say more about how important the Jiao Xiaosi represented by Xie Xuan is to the situation in the Northern Territory, right?"
"He actually has such a deep friendship with Xie Lingyun? When we were discussing Taoism in the academy, Xie Lingyun sent the martial arts experts from the Jiao Xiaosi to chase Zhang Chen. When those martial arts experts used their Qi and blood to force the Yin Gods of the Five Six Masters to be unable to leave their bodies, I felt that something was wrong. I didn't expect that this bitch actually had an affair with Zhang Chen," Zhang Xiaohua's eyes were full of ferocity.
"A small impatience will ruin a big plan. The Prince's intention is to ask you to pursue Xie Lingyun. If you can win Xie Lingyun, the entire Northern Territory Jiao Xiaosi will naturally be yours, and all the court forces in the Northern Territory will be cleared out. The Prince's last piece of territory will also be completed. We will have great achievements to accomplish then," Liu Feng looked around and lowered his voice.
"I do want to pursue Xie Lingyun, but Xie Lingyun refuses to see any of my invitations. What can I do? Even if I have more methods, I can't use them if I can't see her in person," Zhang Xiaohua sighed dejectedly upon hearing this.
The corners of Liu Feng's mouth curled up: "This is not difficult. You're probably not aware that Xie Lingyun comes to the Taoist temple to meet Zhang Chen every seven days. If you seize the opportunity, Junior Brother, you won't have to worry about not seeing Xie Lingyun."
"Really?" Zhang Xiaohua's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but then his expression changed again: "Something's not right! Why would Xie Lingyun come here to meet Zhang Chen? Could it be that the two of them have an affair in private? Wouldn't that make me wear a green hat?"
“You're overthinking it. Xie Lingyun came to see Zhang Chen simply because she liked the kid and wanted to promote him. Xie Lingyun thinks highly of Zhang Chen. If you kill Zhang Chen, you'll definitely anger Xie Lingyun. At that point, Xie Lingyun might turn against the heir apparent. Then, forget about getting close to Xie Lingyun; she'll become your mortal enemy.”
“Young master, why not calm down? Once you've captured Xie Lingyun, you can deal with Zhang Chen however you like, isn't that right?” Liu Feng said with a smile, his voice full of obsequious flattery.
With Zhang Xiaohua's power and influence, he was indeed worth his lowering himself to flatter.
“It seems I can only let that dog thief live a little longer.” Zhang Xiaohua's voice was filled with suppressed anger.
“Not only that, if you want to get close to Xie Lingyun, you also need to build a good relationship with Zhang Chen. You can use Zhang Chen to get closer to Xie Lingyun,” Liu Feng said to Zhang Xiaohua.
Zhang Xiaohua's expression became even more unsightly: “You want me to flatter him? I wish I could flay him alive! Asking me to flatter him is worse than killing me! He's harmed me so badly. I'd rather eat shit than flatter him!”
Asking him to flatter Zhang Chen was worse than eating dung.
“Young master, those who achieve great things don't dwell on trivial matters. If you can win over Xie Lingyun, the entire Northern Territory will be yours. When the destiny of the Northern Territory is unified, the ancestral veins of the Northern Territory will transform and evolve into a dragon vein comparable to the imperial court. The old ancestor of the Pingbian Royal Mansion will also complete his final transformation. What unimaginable gains will you obtain then? The Pingbian Royal Mansion will have the opportunity to seize the world and replace the Son of Heaven in Shenzhou. Compared to a glorious future, what is this mere humiliation?” Liu Feng spoke eloquently, swaying Zhang Xiaohua's mind.
It was just asking him to flatter Zhang Chen, but he really couldn't bring himself to do it.
Seeing that Zhang Xiaohua was tempted but couldn't bring himself to speak, Liu Feng timely offered a way out: “If the young prince is interested, this old Taoist is willing to mediate and resolve the conflict between you two.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua seized the opportunity and grunted in agreement: “I'll have to trouble you, Abbot.”
“Junior brother, follow me.” Seeing that he had persuaded Zhang Xiaohua, Liu Feng was overjoyed. He led Zhang Xiaohua back up the mountain to his own house, then instructed a young acolyte nearby: “Go, summon Zhang Chen.”
Watching the young acolyte leave, Zhang Xiaohua said, “I want to reconcile with Zhang Chen, but I'm just afraid that kid won't reconcile with me. I've been neighbors with that kid for several years, and he's very stubborn, practically a stubborn mule…”
“If he knows what's good for him, fine. But if he doesn't, then let junior brother deal with him. We have ways to make him submit,” Liu Feng said with a smile.
Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of ease on his face, and then he said nothing more.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chen stood inside the house, anxiously waiting. Just then, a shout came from outside the door from the young acolyte: “Where is Zhang Chen?”
“Zhang Chen is here. May I ask what business senior brother has with me?” Zhang Chen asked, secretly on guard.
“The abbot has summoned you. He's waiting for you in his room,” the young Taoist said to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this: “I'll go right away.”
The little bean sprout next to him had a look of joy on his face: “The abbot summoned you; the matter must have been settled.”
Hearing the little bean sprout's words, Zhang Chen's expression remained calm, not showing any joy. On the contrary, he was even more vigilant, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he remained calm and said, “You wait for me here. I'll go see the abbot.”
“I'll go with you.” The little bean sprout had a smile on his face.
Zhang Chen still needed to get the explosive package from the fox spirit; how could he bring the little bean sprout?
So he pressed down on the little bean sprout's head: “Be good, wait for me here, or I won't buy you candied fruit anymore.”
Hearing Zhang Chen's threat, the little bean sprout could only obediently nod, then watched Zhang Chen leave with longing eyes.
Zhang Chen walked through the palaces of the Taoist temple. When he came to a dense forest, he saw the fox spirit Nannan carrying the explosive package, waiting for him under a large tree with longing eyes. When she saw Zhang Chen, her eyes lit up, filled with joy, still in that 'fearless of chaos' state: “After receiving your message, I quickly brought the explosive package. I wasn't late this time, right?”
“Of course not.” Zhang Chen said with a smile, muttering to himself: ‘I wonder what expression this fox spirit will have if she knows I'm using the explosive package to deal with Zhang Xiaohua.’
“Did you bring the hand grenades?” Zhang Chen asked.
The explosive package was too big and inconvenient to carry, so Zhang Chen had also developed hand grenades, which were convenient to carry.
“Of course, I brought ten of them.” The fox spirit Nannan took ten hand grenades from her waist.
Ten hand grenades weren't many, but they were enough to buy Zhang Chen time to react. If something unexpected really happened, it would be enough to delay things so the fox spirit could deliver the explosive package.
“Are we going to blow up this Taoist temple right now?” The fox spirit Nannan's voice was a little excited.
Zhang Chen said unhappily: “Don't talk nonsense. Hide yourself well, find a secret place outside the Taoist temple, and wait for my news.”
The fox spirit Nannan's expression was disappointed. Zhang Chen carefully hung the hand grenades on his waist, covering them with his coat. After tidying his clothes, he got up and walked towards the courtyard where Liu Feng was.
“Could it be that Liu Feng has persuaded Zhang Xiaohua? That kid Zhang Xiaohua is very 'stubborn'. How did he persuade Zhang Xiaohua? If he didn't persuade Zhang Xiaohua, then this time he's calling me over to set up an ambush and capture me to please Zhang Xiaohua…” No matter how Zhang Chen thought about it, he felt that in the eyes of the Yellow Heaven Taoists, his value was definitely not as high as Zhang Xiaohua's. There was simply no comparison between the two.
Behind Zhang Xiaohua was the Pingbian Royal Mansion, which could bring huge benefits to the Yellow Dawn Temple. Moreover, the Yellow Dawn Temple and the Pingbian Royal Mansion had already secretly colluded and become a community of interests. No matter what, the Yellow Dawn Temple had no reason to help him.
But he still held a glimmer of hope, unwilling to give up the higher-level cultivation secrets of the Qi Refining Incantation, so he still had to go and see.
At worst, he would fake his death at that time, or use the explosive package to rush out.
Zhang Chen came to the outside of Liu Feng's gate. He glanced at the small courtyard, and it didn't seem like there were any ambushes, so he walked into the courtyard with peace of mind. He saw Liu Feng sitting in front of a stool making tea, while Zhang Xiaohua was quietly drinking tea.
Seeing Zhang Chen arrive, a smile appeared on Liu Feng's face: “You've come? Quickly take a seat. I have good news to tell you.”