Chapter 408 - Playing Chess - Part 1

In the military tent, General Lei, bent over his desk, suddenly raised his head to look at the pushed-in Deputy General Wang and the closely following Zheng Name, Captain Zheng, his face instantly overcast with clouds.“Zheng Name!” he slammed the desk and shouted, “Insubordination, do you know what crime that is?”

Zheng Name was an alias used by Zheng Shangming in the military.

Zheng Shangming casually pushed aside Deputy General Wang, regarding the guards cramming into the tent as nothing.

He strode forward, both hands braced on the desk, looking down at General Lei, “Seeking personal gain under the guise of public duty, do you know what crime that is?”

General Lei, unable to contain his fury, stood up abruptly, “Is it your place to speak to me like this, Zheng Name?”

Zheng Shangming struck out like lightning, grabbing his shoulders, and pushed him back into his seat.

Due to the sudden exertion of force, a crisp sound of bones cracking came from General Lei’s shoulder.

Before the guards could rush up, Zheng Shangming hissed menacingly, “Get to know me again, I am Zheng Shangming!”

“Lei, you love to flaunt your family background, don’t you?”

“The Capital Commandant of Beiyaduwei is my father, can you match that?

A mere Lei, and you act so high and mighty.

Why don’t you ask Lei Zhanqian whether he recognizes you or me?”

Deputy General Wang, pushed aside by Zheng Shangming, suddenly felt his legs weaken, and General Lei felt his heart waver as well.

He finally understood why he had been instructed to deal with such a “minor character.”

The “minor character” was not minor at all; the only thing “minor” from beginning to end was he, Lei himself.

Although he bore the Lei surname, he was after all from a collateral line.

Lei Zhanqian was a leading figure of the new generation of the Lei Family, someone he had never even met, let alone recognized.

He was also very aware of the weight of the position of the Capital Commandant of the Beiyaduwei.

Beiyaduwei, in fact, referred to the Patrol Inspection Bureau of the capital city; it was simply called “Beiyaduwei” because it operated in the north of the city.

There were many official premises in the north of the city, but “Beiyaduwei” had become a synonym for the Patrol Inspection Bureau of the capital city.

This alone showed the authoritative weight of the Patrol Inspection Bureau of the capital city.

The position of Linzi Patrol Inspection Capital Commandant was not very high in rank, but it held enormous power, responsible for the whole of Linzi’s security.

Capital Commandant Zheng Shi of Beiyaduwei was also one of the power-holders in Linzi, far surpassing a minor general like himself.

A very direct comparison was that in the entire Rain-slicing Army, not to mention the high rankings of generals and deputy generals, there were a total of eighty generals like himself, whereas Zheng Shi was the undisputed boss in Beiyaduwei.

It was only now that he realized the status of the person he’d been looking down upon and bullying.

Despite this, General Lei was still adamant, “No matter who you are or what your status, this is the Rain-slicing Army, not some disorderly place.

Here, you must follow the rules of this place!”

After all, his personal soldiers were watching; he couldn’t lose too much face.

Naturally, the Rain-slicing Army was one of the Nine Armies, with strict military discipline.

However, the word “rules” is always relative to the person involved.

Zheng Shangming spoke coldly, “If I want to, I could be in your position tomorrow!

You want to talk to me about rules, about status, about hierarchy?”

His words were not a pointless boast—Zhongxuan Sheng had started as a deputy general when he assumed a position in the Autumn Kill Army to avoid any suspicion of bias.

If Zheng Shangming were to employ his family connections to secure a position in the military, becoming a deputy general would not be difficult, and he could take on the role of a general at any time.

Because what he said was true, it carried an extra level of intimidation.

General Lei’s voice finally came with difficulty, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t want to do anything to you.

I have never considered trash like you worth my attention,” Zheng Shangming said, casting a glance at Deputy General Wang, who was shrinking back.

Both Lei and Wang were no good in his eyes.

He continued to stare at General Lei, “Now you need to give me an explanation.

Why did you arrange for me to follow the man from Qingyang Town?

Or rather, who put you up to it?”

“Wen Lianmu,” General Lei was perceptive of the situation.

This was an unexpected name.

Zheng Shangming pondered for a moment, recalling who this person was, then coldly asked, “Where is he now?”

“He should be at the Town-saving Grand Marshal’s residence,” General Lei said.

In his eyes flashed a fleeting gleam of mockery and satisfaction.

It seemed that even the son of the Capital Commandant of Beiyaduwei couldn’t withstand a direct confrontation with the Disciple of the War God.

In Zheng Shangming’s heart, there was only one thought — just as expected!

There was only one emotion, like sparks bursting into flame.

It was an anger that could not be suppressed for another moment.

Within the grand marshal’s mansion of the nation.

Wen Lianmu propped his chin with one hand and fiddled with a white piece in the other, tapping it on the board intermittently.

Thud, thud, thud, thud-thud-thud.

The noise was disorderly, irritatingly chaotic.

Yet, across from him, Wang Yiwu sat cross-legged with no reaction, still immersed in his own world of cultivation.

After what seemed like an eternity, punctuated by several yawns from Wen Lianmu, Wang Yiwu finally slowly opened his eyes.

The instant control of his imposing aura deeply shocked Wen Lianmu and he perked up.

“Hey!” Wen Lianmu tossed the piece into the jar with a crisp sound, “You promised Zhongxuan Zun to help him mind the store, and it doesn’t make sense for you to hide away and cultivate all day, doing nothing else but ordering me around to stay busy, does it?”

Wang Yiwu looked at him indifferently and said coolly, “If I didn’t come to you, would you have shown up to help Zun?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Wen Lianmu replied irritably, “I’m not even close to him!”

“You see, that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Wang Yiwu’s tone was still infuriating, yet it made perfect sense.

Wen Lianmu ground his teeth in frustration for a while before reluctantly admitting, “Go ahead and be smug, I can’t beat you now…”

“You never could beat me before,” Wang Yiwu said flatly.

Wen Lianmu was suddenly rendered speechless.

Wang Yiwu continued, “And you won’t be able to beat me in the future either.”

He thought for a moment, then added, “You’ll never have the chance in this lifetime.

I am the strongest.”

Wen Lianmu: …

Wen Lianmu suspected that one day he might die of anger because of this guy.

What’s it like when a scholar encounters a soldier?

What does it mean that brute force can overpower any strategy?

To think that I, Wen Lianmu, with exceptional intelligence and outstanding martial strategies, am stuck dealing with…

Wang Yiwu waved his hand in front of him, “Wake up, no more daydreaming.

How about doing some real work?”

Wen Lianmu took a deep breath, telling himself not to worry about it.

Then he said, “The first step of the plan sure wasn’t easy to execute, Jiang Wang is not an idiot.

Get ready for what comes next; Zheng Shangming will likely come knocking on our door.

I have no intention of getting my hands dirty and making a mess.”

“Just a Zheng Shangming, he could be killed with one hand; why the need to prepare?” Wang Yiwu declared boldly.

Wen Lianmu hissed, finally losing his temper, “Who asked you to kill him?

Why would you kill him for no reason?

Killing Zheng Shangming is easy, but what about Zheng Shi, can you kill him too?”

Wang Yiwu, without any sense of fault, said, “It’s hard to judge without having fought him.”

You’re actually considering fighting the Capital Commandant of Beiyaduwei.

Wen Lianmu felt like he was going to lose his mind.

He barely managed to calm down and said in a very level and composed voice, “Listen to my arrangements, okay?

Just teach him a lesson, let him see the difference, okay?

Don’t humiliate him, don’t cause him any disabilities, and definitely don’t kill him, okay?”

With three “okay?” in a row, he had exhausted all the patience of his life.

Wang Yiwu just looked at him nonchalantly, with an expression suggesting he found him utterly baffling.

His final response was, “Okay.”