Zhang Xiaohua, upon hearing the guard’s words, immediately became emotionally agitated. Feeling humiliated by the other’s mockery, his eyes revealed a trace of furious embarrassment. In disbelief, he responded, "How is this possible! How could this happen? Could it be that you, wretch, look down on others with disdain and only pretended to inform me, but actually didn’t report anything?"
Liu Feng had already said that he had informed Zhang Chen in advance, so how could Zhang Chen refuse to meet him?
He suspected that the other party had been deceiving him all along, and had not gone to report anything.
Faced with Zhang Xiaohua, who was full of anger, the guard was not intimidated at all. He was a guard of the Inspection and Supervision Department, directly under the royal family, not subject to local jurisdiction.
Therefore, after hearing Zhang Xiaohua’s reprimand and questioning, the guard’s eyes showed a trace of coldness, and he mercilessly activated his mocking mode: "There are too many people in this world who neither know the immensity of heaven and earth nor their own worth. Everyone, upon hearing news of Commander Xie, thinks they can rush over to gain some advantage and want to win Commander Xie’s favor. Boy, if you want to come over and take advantage, why don’t you take a look at your own ugly face in the mirror? Just by looking at you, Commander Xie would probably lose his appetite and sleep, and be haunted by nightmares every night."
"You...you damned bastard, you’re simply going too far!" Zhang Xiaohua was so irate that he was jumping with fury, the repeated taunts of ’ugly freak’ cutting into his chest like daggers, leaving it riddled with wounds.
The guard arrogantly lifted his head, nostrils in the air towards Zhang Xiaohua, causing Zhang Xiaohua to stomp his feet in anger, eventually resigning himself to leave.
He still needed to build a relationship with Xie Lingyun and couldn’t afford to cause trouble here, lest he offend Xie Lingyun and lower his impression in her heart.
Zhang Chen and Xie Lingyun had been conversing inside the Daoist Temple for quite some time. Then Xie Lingyun got up and took her leave, leaving Zhang Chen standing silently in the courtyard watching her back.
Not long after Xie Lingyun left, the Observatory Master Liu Feng walked in from outside, his face stern, his eyes locked onto Zhang Chen.
"Greetings to the Observatory Master," Zhang Chen greeted with a salute.
"Didn’t I previously instruct you? I told you to cooperate with the Crown Prince to approach Xie Lingyun. When the Crown Prince seized the opportunity to visit, why didn’t you help create the chance for them to meet?" Liu Feng’s voice was calm, yet there was a kind of aggressive questioning within that calmness.
Zhang Chen glanced at Liu Feng, noting that face of his akin to that of an old peasant, deceptively gentle. He couldn’t help but secretly sigh in his heart: "It truly is a deceptively gentle face." Zhang Chen sighed lightly, contemplating: ’If he were really that honest and benevolent, how could he manage the entire Daoist Temple? How could he control those three thousand samurai?’
So at this moment, Zhang Chen cautioned himself not to underestimate Liu Feng in the slightest; this guy was by no means as simple as he appeared. This is a classic case of a wolf in a sheep’s clothing, a face far too misleading; anyone fooled by him wouldn’t know how they died.
"Please don’t blame me, sir. With Leader Xie here, where do I have the room to speak? Leader Xie didn’t want to meet anyone, and just directly sent them away." Zhang Chen helplessly spread his hands: "You’re really wronging me!"
At this point, Zhang Chen pointed to Xiaodouding beside him: "Senior Sister can testify, I didn’t say a word. It was Leader Xie who decisively turned them away."
Upon hearing their words, Liu Feng’s expression softened, and his tone also began to mellow: "So, it seems I’ve misjudged you."
"If it were me, I’d probably have had misunderstandings as well," Zhang Chen said understandingly.
"Try your best to create opportunities for the Crown Prince. If things succeed, the Crown Prince surely won’t neglect rewarding you." Liu Feng’s voice was full of temptation: "The Yellow Heaven Dao will soon hold the Luotian Grand Sacrifice, where the Water God will be ordained. If you can accomplish this matter, I can ensure that you receive the blessing of the Water God."
For the Yellow Heaven Dao, whether they can win over Xie Lingyun is extremely important. Xie Xuan’s Inspection and Supervision Department has fifty thousand elite troops that can match an ordinary thirty to fifty thousand soldiers, like a fierce dog gripping the Northern Land’s throat. If they cannot pacify the fifty thousand elite troops of the Inspection and Supervision Department, it will inevitably lead to chaos.
Fifty thousand elite soldiers may not seem like many, but they are indeed numerous. On the battlefield, numbers aren’t everything, or why would generals be necessary?
Though fifty thousand troops seem few, if commanded from one place and operated with mastery, they could well defeat even a million-strong force.
A million troops may be many, but commanding and maneuvering them is extremely complicated, and it’s easy for them to fall into disarray.
As the saying goes, when troops flee, they fall like a mountain collapsing. If fifty thousand troops unite and form a charge, breaking the enemy’s large army isn’t difficult.
For instance, in the legendary Battle of the Three Crosses over the Red Waters, Mr. Mao’s command achieved an incredible feat, a battle that can be called an art form.
Liu Feng gave a few more reminders before hurriedly leaving, leaving Zhang Chen standing in the courtyard daydreaming, pondering the future situation.
"It seems if I want to stay in the Yellow Heaven Dao honestly and quietly, even that won’t be easy. The internal situation in the Yellow Heaven Dao isn’t very harmonious either. I must quickly master more Divine Techniques to cope with the future circumstances. The God-Beating Whip is currently under Sacrificial Refining, the timing out of my control. The only thing I can focus on now is mastering the Three-in-One Sand Skill. Perhaps if I can master the Sand Merging Skill, I might increase my skills for self-preservation. Using the Sand Merging Skill to stir up sandstorms to cover the Nine Bends Yellow River Array, perhaps I could assassinate quite a few old guys at that time." Zhang Chen’s thoughts flickered, continually planning for his future.