Chapter 1526: No One Is Born Into a Life of Luxury

Zhu Weimei pondered, then spoke, "It seems no one knows... and no one has ever asked me, so I haven't spoken of it."

All within the Fenglin City Domain were trapped in the rift between the Underworld and the Mortal Realm. Those who knew the names of the Five Fenglin Valiants, those who were truly aided by the so-called Five Fenglin Valiants in their acts of righteousness, were all gone.

As Jiang Wang saw it, this was the reason Du Yehu could continue to reside in the Zhuang Kingdom.

But what if this matter were known?

That preceding battle, from beginning to end, bore the mark of Lin Zhenren's stratagem.

Du Yehu alone could never have conceived of concealing himself within the first formation eye to await a surprise attack.

From this series of battle layouts, it could be seen that at least Lin Zhenren knew of his affection for Du Yehu. Thus, their sworn brotherhood from back then had, in all likelihood, been exposed. Though how it came to light remained unknown...

With this matter exposed, how could Zhuang Gaoxian and Du Ruhui, this lord and minister, ever trust Du Yehu?

Therefore, if Du Yehu still wished to remain in the Zhuang Kingdom, this confrontation had become a necessary justification...

Now, the only thing Du Yehu needed to conceal was the fact that he knew the truth about Fenglin City. Only if he truly believed Jiang Wang was the culprit behind the destruction of the Fenglin City Domain, the one in league with the White Bone Sect, would he have a reason to hate Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang swiftly clarified his thoughts, feeling the faint pain in his chest. He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, "His cudgel is indeed heavy."

These past few years, none of them had wasted their time...

That fierce tiger malevolence of Du Laohu's, how was it forged?

How many times had he licked blood from the blade's edge, how many times had he walked before the gates of hell?

Zhu Weimei glanced at Jiang Wang lightly, and spoke casually, "I remember you weren't one to hold back... Forget it, I'll find an opportunity to kill him for you."

"Don't!" Jiang Wang sat up abruptly.

The movement pulled at his wounds, causing him to hiss softly.

Meeting Zhu Weimei's questioning gaze, he explained, "I believe Du Laohu."

Zhu Weimei immediately understood the meaning of these words. He raised his chin, facing him, "Even with things turned out like this?"

Jiang Wang's tone was firm as he said, "Even so."

When he conversed with Du Yehu, after the so-called rhetorical question about "catching up," Du Yehu had directly said, "Do you still remember the good wine I hid under the bed?"

In that outer courtyard dormitory of the Fenglin City Daoist Academy back then, it was well known that the good wine had long since been shared and drunk. What Du Yehu hid under the bed was only inferior liquor.

It was the worst kind of wine, used only when he had spent all his silver and was desperately craving alcohol, just to appease the wine craving.

In Zhao Rucheng's words, even dogs wouldn't drink it.

Of course, for those words, Zhao Rucheng had been beaten for at least half a month.

Since the "good wine" in that sentence was false,

then the past ambitions were also false.

And it didn't matter whether he was a person of the Zhuang Kingdom or not.

So this battle was not his true feeling.

The message Du Yehu conveyed to Jiang Wang was that he remembered everything, that he and Jiang Wang were both enduring!

And that it was due to some unavoidable reason that he had attacked Jiang Wang so unreservedly.

He needed Jiang Wang's cooperation.

Thus, came Jiang Wang's wild and reckless swordplay.

In truth, by that point in the battle, how could Jiang Wang still believe that Lin Zhenren's true form was hidden within that small mound?

With his battle talent, how could he continuously make so many mistakes in combat?

People make mistakes, and he needed others to know that he, Jiang Wang, was no different.

He feigned belief, merely to give himself a reason not to deliver a killing blow to Du Yehu and to quickly withdraw from the scene—he was injured, he couldn't find Lin Zhenren's true form, he feared Du Ruhui's pursuit, thus he could only leave.

With Lin Zhenren never showing his face, continuing to fight would have made concealment impossible... He couldn't possibly truly extinguish all of Du Yehu's vitality.

Thus, he needed such a "mistake" to make his withdrawal seem reasonable.

And because of his usual strength, making such a natural "mistake" was actually more difficult than striving for victory, a hundred or a thousand times harder.

Since the destruction of Fenglin City, no, since Du Yehu was conscripted into the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army,

they had never spoken to each other again.

The promise in Du Yehu's letters to spend the New Year together, for brothers to reunite, for him to return home in glory... had never been fulfilled.

Their homeland was gone.

Later, during that infiltration into the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army camp, Jiang Wang merely stole a glance at Du Yehu before leaving.

He knew, he did not know.

Counting it, this was their true "reunion" in every sense.

Alas, there was no drinking, no clashing of fists.

No cheering or exultation, no one adorned in fine silks.

Only the blood-soaked malevolence of soldiers, only the frost and dust of a journey of ten thousand miles.

Mutually striking with lethal intent.

Du Yehu, charging forward instead of retreating in the boundless sea of fire, fighting on through the injuries that burned his body and destroyed his bones, indeed completed the most crucial step in gaining the trust of the Zhuang court.

At the same time, he completely entrusted his life into Jiang Wang's hands.

If Jiang Wang's hand had trembled even slightly, or if he had the slightest doubt about Du Yehu, Du Yehu would have been utterly annihilated.

Even if Jiang Wang had perfectly acted out that scene, flawlessly portraying the mistakes a top-tier Outer Building cultivator shouldn't make, and vividly portraying his urgency regarding the appearance of higher-level Zhuang Kingdom powerhouses, Du Yehu's life still hinged on whether or not Du Ruhui would appear.

Would Du Ruhui appear? Would Du Ruhui save him? Would Du Ruhui believe?

These were all questions.

Du Yehu had placed his life here, suspended beneath Jiang Wang's sword.

How could he not trust Du Yehu?!

Jiang Wang's "cooperation" was only complete if Du Ruhui was certain to save Du Yehu. Otherwise, Du Yehu, injured as he was, could simply have died...

Therefore, upon encountering Du Ruhui's Mountain River Stab, Jiang Wang's first feeling was one of relief. Only then did he consider how to deal with Du Ruhui's strike.

Seeing Jiang Wang so resolute, Zhu Weimei said nothing else, only stating, "In the two days you were unconscious, two things may be related to you."

Jiang Wang sat up with difficulty, hands braced on the ground to make himself more comfortable, "Which two?"

"The first matter is that a person named Chu Yuzhi came from the Chu Kingdom, asked who had collected Xiao Shu's corpse, then gave Lianheng seven Yuan Stones, offered a few joss sticks before Xiao Shu's grave, and left... Do you know him?"

"He was a like-minded friend of Xiao Shu's," Jiang Wang said. "Presumably, those seven Yuan Stones were all he had."

Zhu Weimei nodded, then added, "The second matter. The Duke of Huai of Great Chu has issued an unrestricted kill order. Proclaimed throughout the entire Southern Domain, it commands the world to hunt down Yi Shengfeng.

Anyone who can claim Yi Shengfeng's head can go to the Duke of Huai's mansion to receive a reward.

The reward is a thousand Yuan Stones, an Outer Building level Dharma Artifact, a Super Grade Dao Technique, and a method for refining Spiritual Sense.

Furthermore, the Duke of Huai's mansion guarantees the safety of the killer, protecting them from retaliation by any force..."

He looked at Jiang Wang, "I remember you have a good relationship with the young master of that Duke of Huai's mansion, is this related to you?"

Jiang Wang was stunned!

When he was ambushed earlier, he had considered whether the hidden opponent might be Yi Shengfeng.

He had long known through the Duke of Huai's mansion that Yi Shengfeng had been collecting intelligence about him. He knew Yi Shengfeng must have a great understanding of him, and was the most likely person to specifically ambush and kill him.

He had also prepared for a fight to the death.

But what he hadn't expected was that for a long time, Yi Shengfeng would not be able to appear again...

Although Chu was defeated at the River Valley, it was still the overlord of the Southern Domain.

The Zuo clan was a thousand-year-old aristocratic family of Great Chu, a powerful lineage capable of influencing the Chu court's affairs.

What did the unrestricted kill order from the Duke of Huai's mansion mean?

It meant that from now on, unless Yi Shengfeng never stepped outside the Southern Dipper Hall, he would forever be in danger, living in constant fear and uncertainty!

At this moment, seated in the prison tower of Buyu City, he remembered the first time he entered the Duke of Huai's study.

That old man had said, "Child, I just want to see you now."

He felt a genuine bond of friendship.

Though Chu was not his homeland, it stirred in him the feelings of a hometown!

Jiang Wang sighed, "Yi Shengfeng is my mortal enemy... hated from childhood until now."

"What kind of great enmity?" Zhu Weimei thought he was joking, and laughed, "Did he steal your rattle drum?"

Jiang Wang looked at him with a strange expression.

"Is there a problem?" Zhu Weimei asked.

Jiang Wang sighed, "I thought someone like Senior Brother wouldn't know what a rattle drum was."

Zhu Weimei lightly coughed, "Senior Brother had a childhood too."

Jiang Wang thought of the Senior Sister who liked to eavesdrop, and wisely stopped the conversation, instead explaining, "He and I were childhood playmates, inseparable every day. When the Qisha True Person of the Southern Dipper Hall chose a disciple, they told us they would only take one person, and he pushed me into the river... Later, I entered the City Daoist Academy, and he has been cultivating in the Southern Dipper Hall ever since."

Although Jiang Wang spoke these words calmly,

a child who unhesitatingly pushed his constant companion into the river truly conveyed a kind of seemingly innate coldness.

"They are indeed a match made in heaven as master and disciple," Zhu Weimei commented.

"That's about the story. He has always wanted to kill me, and I have always given him opportunities," Jiang Wang said. "But now he has to survive first."

Zhu Weimei smiled, "If he doesn't hide in the Southern Dipper Hall, surviving will be quite difficult."

Jiang Wang also smiled for a moment, "The feeling of bullying others with power isn't bad!"

After laughing for a while, Zhu Weimei examined him, "Are your injuries better?"

Jiang Wang accepted Senior Brother Zhu's concern and said, "Much better."

"You should go," Zhu Weimei said.

Jiang Wang was slightly taken aback, then nodded, "Okay."

And then he stood up.

Although at this moment his body still greatly needed recuperation.

Although he had been suppressing the pain with sheer willpower.

He never wanted others to know.

He thought for a moment, then said to Zhu Weimei, "I keep feeling there's something wrong with Du Ruhui. Although that cone spear strike of his was meant to probe me, what if I was truly injured, truly unable to withstand it? How could he dare to take that risk, to openly kill me? I think they must have some conspiracy, Senior Brother, you must be extra careful. It would be best... if you could go out and avoid the storm."

"If everything is as you say, Du Yehu is trustworthy, and Du Ruhui is suspicious of him, then his Mountain River Stab is quite logical."

Zhu Weimei calmly analyzed, "He knew I would go to save you, and he thought you didn't know I would go to save you. So he knew you wouldn't die, but he could observe your reaction between life and death."

"And his Mountain River Stab had another purpose."

Zhu Weimei's hand paused on the tip of the spear, "To force me to come save you, preventing me from killing Lin Zhenren and Du Yehu."

Jiang Wang was silent for a moment. He already knew that Zhu Weimei and Du Ruhui had exchanged blows earlier.

He was wary of Du Ruhui, and Zhu Weimei, who understood Du Ruhui even better than he did, was naturally also wary.

That's why he wasn't keeping him here to recover from his injuries now, urging him to leave quickly.

Because next, Zhu Weimei did not have the confidence to protect him. It was no longer like before, hooking his shoulder and inviting him to look back together at Xiao Shu's冲神临 (charging at the Divine Ascension).

Thinking back now, at that time Senior Brother Zhu had just attained Divine Ascension and had the sharp edge to challenge Du Ruhui. Now...

In the battle that Senior Brother Zhu participated in, did Zhuang Gaoxian make an appearance?

Zhu Weimei did not mention it, but Jiang Wang had already thought of many things.

But finally, he only said, "Senior Brother Zhu, please take care."

Then he turned and went down the prison tower alone.

The most unavoidable thing in the world is misunderstanding between people.

Because everyone's views, experiences, and even their mood at this very moment are completely different. Even the same sentence will evoke different feelings in people.

That is why trust is so precious.

Like him and Du Yehu.

Like him and Zhu Weimei at this moment.

If trust in this world is rare and precious,

then Yi Shengfeng's trust in Jiang Wang was no less than anyone else's.

Only, Du Yehu's trust was the entrustment of life and death, and Zhu Weimei's trust was the unspoken word.

And Yi Shengfeng's trust...

He knew that with Lin Zhenren and Du Yehu, there was no possibility of killing Jiang Wang.

No matter how much he spent to collect such detailed intelligence, no matter how many targeted methods he proposed, no matter how much information he freely gave to the Zhuang court.

As long as Zhuang Gaoxian did not have the courage to abandon the foundation of a nation and personally hunt down Jiang Wang again, Jiang Wang would not die.

He knew this, but he still gave so much.

Nothing else, he himself was being hunted, and he couldn't let Jiang Wang have an easy time either.

That was all.

It wasn't that he hated Jiang Wang so much.

Back then, he was the victor, and he should have been the one to be hated.

But it was because... he clearly knew that he and Jiang Wang were destined to fight to the death.

So while he himself was running around, unable to settle down and cultivate, he also couldn't give Jiang Wang time to cultivate in peace.

Especially hearing that Lin fellow say that Du Yehu and Jiang Wang had once been sworn brothers.

That was even better.

Whether Jiang Wang killed Du Yehu, or Du Yehu killed Jiang Wang, it was a good thing.

The latter goes without saying, ending everything.

The former could also damage Jiang Wang's Dao heart, and if it was severe enough, it wasn't impossible to produce inner demons. This would be of great benefit to their future confrontations.

"Pah!"

Yi Shengfeng spat out a mouthful of blood into the rain.

Holding his sword, he didn't say a word and soared far away.

Not long after, figures emerged from the rain, one after another, silently surrounding the dilapidated mountain god temple with its leaky roof and walls.

But the temple was empty.