PDLP Chapter 28: A Place Where Talented Individuals Emerge!
Chapter 28: A Place Where Talented Individuals Emerge!
"Master Zou, when do you plan to depart?"
Ying Zheng's gaze slowly shifted from the white jade that had determined his fate, and returned to Zou Yun's face.
"Seven days later," Zou Yun answered crisply.
"So fast?"
Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow slightly, then said, "If Master Zou has any needs regarding manpower and resources for this trip, please feel free to speak up, and I will do my best to provide them."
Zou Yun pondered for a moment, "No need for too much. I only need a team of elite armored soldiers to protect me, along with my attendants."
The small number of people makes it easier to move around and also makes it easier for them to find an opportunity to escape.
"good!"
Ying Zheng accepted the offer very readily and did not impose more manpower, seemingly showing great trust in Zou Yun.
"I then dispatched a troop of elite palace guards, carrying imperial insignia, to accompany and protect General Zou."
Zou Yun, ever quick to respond, immediately feigned gratitude and said loudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Just when he thought the matter was over and was about to say goodbye.
Sudden--
Ying Zheng stepped forward and firmly grasped Zou Yun's hand.
His palm carried an undeniable strength, along with a barely perceptible tremor.
Ying Zheng gazed into Zou Yun's eyes, his tone more earnest than ever before, "Master Zou, the journey is long and arduous, with high mountains and distant roads."
"I'm leaving everything... in your hands."
As he spoke, he increased the pressure on his hand even more.
"Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in your trust!"
Zou Yun met Ying Zheng's gaze and solemnly agreed, each word carrying immense weight.
Ying Zheng seemed to believe him and finally released Zou Yun's hand.
In an era where integrity is valued more than one's own life, this promise is the most powerful proof.
Then, Zou Yun slowly bowed and stepped out of the main hall.
As he approached the palace gate, he subconsciously glanced at the guards standing solemnly under the corridor outside the palace.
"Hmm? The faces of the attendants outside the hall seem to be... a different group of unfamiliar faces?" A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
However, Zou Yun, who was eager to return to Xianren Temple to arrange his itinerary, did not linger on these minor details.
He simply put that doubt aside and walked straight out of Xianyang Palace.
Ying Zheng watched silently as the figure gradually receded into the distance until it disappeared from sight.
After a long while, and only after confirming that Zou Yun was far away, Ying Zheng spoke again as if talking to himself.
"Master Zou's journey is fraught with peril, the mountains are high and the waters are treacherous... I am very uneasy about it."
After speaking, he sat back down at his desk, bowing his head and focusing intently on the bamboo slips.
After that, Ying Zheng didn't say anything, but it was as if he had already said everything in his previous sentence.
Zhao Gao understood immediately and bowed in response.
"only!"
Ying Zheng did not look up at him, his fingertips slowly tracing the engravings on the bamboo slip, focusing only on the bamboo slip in his hand.
He knew that Zhao Gao was an extremely intelligent person, and an intelligent person naturally knows how to turn unfinished ideas into practical actions.
Over the years, Zhao Gao has been like a sharp and handy knife, silently cutting off many troublesome vines for him.
This is precisely why he increasingly relied on Zhao Gao.
As for the potential backlash from a sharp blade?
A cold smile curled at the corner of Ying Zheng's lips. He had absolute confidence that he could wield this sword.
-----------------
Meanwhile, after returning to the Immortal Temple.
Zou Yun immediately informed Zheng Ze, Feng Zhixue, Shi Gong, and others that he was leaving Xianyang.
"This...why would the Grand Master suddenly leave Xianyang?" Feng Zhixue asked in astonishment.
Back then, he went to great lengths to come to Xianyang, the hub of the world, and spent all his wealth to squeeze into the Immortal Temple, becoming a Taoist priest.
What they seek is nothing more than to attach themselves to the powerful and wealthy, and to gain a life of luxury and wealth.
Now, the word "leave" is just two words that Zou Yun says lightly.
But for Feng Zhixue, this was tantamount to negating all the efforts he had made in the first half of his life.
Therefore, his reaction to this news was the most intense.
"That's right, but is there more to the story?"
Shi Gong, who was standing to the side, seemed to sense something unusual. A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he tentatively asked a question.
Judging from Ying Zheng's indifferent reaction, he, who had spent many years navigating the world of alchemists, had already sensed that something was amiss.
After all, something unusual must be going on.
Seeing that Zou Yun avoided the topic but still had that smile on his lips, Shi Gong instantly understood.
He stopped asking questions, lowered his eyelids, and unconsciously twirled his beard with his fingers, seemingly plotting something in his mind.
Zheng Ze's answer was the most straightforward; he simply said, "Wherever the Grand Master goes, I will go."
After saying that, he remained calm and composed.
For a moment, the small courtyard fell into a long silence.
"Master Shi is getting on in years; would you be willing to stay at the Immortal Temple?"
Seeing that none of the three spoke, Zou Yun broke the silence first and smiled at Shi Gong.
However, this smile was nothing short of a bolt from the blue for Shi Gong.
"They're here! They really are here!"
Upon hearing that Zou Yun had offered to let him stay at the Immortal Temple to live out his days, alarm bells rang in Shi Gong's mind.
"He wasn't going to let me, his only weakness, slip by so easily! This isn't about letting me stay; it's clearly a test."
After all, in Shi Gong's view, he was the only one who could be completely certain that Zou Yun's "disintegration" that day was nothing more than a smokescreen.
Putting himself in the shoes of others, if it were him, Shi Gong would definitely have firmly grasped this single flaw.
Even... even seek an opportunity to completely eliminate them.
How could he possibly leave such a time bomb in Xianyang, a city he was about to leave?
Therefore, at this moment, Shi Gong was frantically deducing and speculating in his mind.
"If I readily agree to stay, will he think I have ulterior motives and am eager to get rid of him? But if I refuse, will he think I'm too compliant and therefore suspicious...?"
As he pondered, Shi Gong seemed to see the cold blade hidden beneath Zou Yun's gentle smile.
"No, that's not right! It's also possible that the Immortal Temple is already a dead end!"
"Did he anticipate, or perhaps orchestrate, a major upheaval in Xianyang, and deliberately leave me behind to take the fall for him? Or was he using me as a pawn to attract the attention of certain individuals?"
"What a vicious mind! No wonder he's a master of deception!"
Shi Gong glanced at Zou Yun in front of him subconsciously, his eyes filled with a complex and unfathomable expression, leaving Zou Yun completely bewildered.
"Or... he may have outwardly allowed me to stay, but secretly he's already laid a trap, waiting for my consent to strike and silently eliminate me?"
"After all, the dead are the best at keeping secrets..."
Who is it? Is it him?
Shi Gong's gaze involuntarily drifted to Zheng Ze on his left, and he even imagined that after he nodded, Zheng Ze would immediately pounce on him and pin him to the ground.
Damn it, how am I supposed to answer this?
Just as cold sweat beaded on Shi Gong's forehead, and he was preparing to use all his acting skills to give an answer that wouldn't seem too eager to stay, nor too resistant—
A strong, resonant voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
"Great Master, are you well?"
An elderly man with long eyebrows, wearing an overly enthusiastic smile, stepped into the courtyard.
"Master Wang?" Zou Yun asked in confusion.
This Wang Chunsheng, although Master Wang always greets him with a smile, is different from his mortal enemy, Master Liu.
Master Liu was eager to be near him every day, while Master Wang always kept his distance and never took the initiative to visit him.
That's why Zou Yun was puzzled as to why he had suddenly come to visit today.
"Master Wang, what is this?" Zou Yun asked.
Without any pleasantries or formalities, Wang Chunsheng bowed deeply to Zou Yun and got straight to the point.
"Having heard that the Grand Master is about to embark on a long journey, I have come here specifically to earnestly request that the Grand Master and others take me with them."
"Even if it's just serving tea and water to the Grand Master, I would be happy and content!"
These words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake!
Everyone present, except for Master Shi, was dumbfounded and their jaws dropped.
It's unbelievable that these words came from the mouth of Wang Fangshi, who is known for his seriousness, rigidity, and sternness!
Okay!
Zou Yun inwardly chuckled and thought, 'You old codger with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, all sanctimonious and upright, so you actually have ambitions after all...'
"No wonder, in the entire temple, you and Master Liu are like oil and water. So you two are destined to be enemies, yet kindred spirits!!"
Faced with this sudden turn of events, the three looked at each other, unsure of what to say.