knife

Chapter 215 Conditional Service

Feng Congwen and Yang Lixin stayed in Danzhou City for a full ten days.

During these ten days, the officer named Chen Jianren who led them across the river also gathered more than a thousand remnants of soldiers who had escaped from Taiyuan City.

There were the outlaws from Taiyuan City, as well as the Hedong Allied Army.

Chen Jianren unceremoniously handed these people over to Feng Congwen and Yang Lixin, asking them to reorganize and take good care of them, and then he disappeared without a trace.

They were given enough food and provisions in Danzhou City.

This put Feng Congwen and Yang Lixin in an awkward position.

You said that when we were fleeing for our lives, we had no choice but to share the same boat, but now that we're safe, how can the two groups still live in peace?
Not resorting to violence is already a great act of restraint.

Especially Feng Congwen and those Hedong Allied Army soldiers, they were He Zudao's enemies, but now they were eating and drinking He Zudao's food, which felt very awkward.

But they still dare not leave casually.

Not to mention that Yang Lixin and his group are still keeping a close eye on them, what if He Zudao turns his back on them once they leave Danzhou City?
With their current manpower, they're barely enough to fill a gap in someone's teeth.

The group of less than two thousand people naturally split into two groups, staying in Danyang City, not knowing where they would go next.

Ten days later, Chen Jianren finally reappeared in front of the two of them.

"The General is back and wants to see you!" Chen Jianren said.

Yang Lixin was overjoyed. He Zudao was an idol to him, and moreover, He Zudao had saved his life in the end.

But for Feng Congwen, this was nothing less than a judgment; what was bound to happen would happen, and there was no escaping it. He could only accept whatever treatment He Zudao had for him, a remnant of the Hedong aristocratic family.

Now, let alone He Zudao, even Yang Lixin in front of him is no match for him in a one-on-one fight.

He Zudao was eating under a peach tree.

There were seven or eight steamed buns, a large bowl of millet porridge, and shredded salted vegetables in the bamboo basket. He Zudao buried his head in his food and ate with great relish.

To the two men's surprise, He Zudao was dressed in hemp clothing, with a hemp rope around his waist and a mourning headband on his head.

Did someone in the family die?

Seeing the two enter, He Zudao tossed the last bit of millet porridge in his hand into his mouth, even licking his fingers, before finishing the rest in one gulp. Only then did he point to the stone bench in front of him and say, "Sit!"

The two sat down somewhat uneasily, and He Zudao pointed to his head and said, "I just received news today that my father is dead."

Why did the great general die such a bitter death?

This was no small matter for either the Qin or the Chu state.

It's unclear what the Qin Dynasty's attitude is.

But the State of Chu must be celebrating its victory right now.

He Qiku guarded the southern border for more than 20 years. Apart from the last major defeat, he fought many battles with the State of Chu during these 20 years, winning more battles than losing.

In order to defend Xiangcheng, the State of Chu has lost many famous generals to He Qiku over the years.

"Killed by the imperial court?" Yang Lixin roared, "General, one day we will avenge the old general!"

He Zudao smiled and said, "He died of old age, and the court treated him with dignity, giving him a grand burial!"

"Shameless!" Yang Lixin cursed.

“But at one of my father’s funerals, the court officially announced to the world that I, He Zudao, am a traitor!” He Zudao turned to look at He Mu Congwen: “Young Master Feng, you also have to wear mourning clothes. The Feng family of Shangdang is all dead, and they say it was me, He Zudao, who killed them! Ha, that’s right. I killed the Liu family in Jinyang, then the Wang family in Taiyuan, and then I went to Shangdang to kill your Feng family. It’s only natural.”

Feng Congwen's expression changed drastically, and his whole body trembled.

Although he had prepared himself for this, when the bad news actually came, Feng Congwen still overestimated his psychological resilience.

She tried hard to hold back her emotions and not lose her composure in front of He Zudao, but tears still streamed down her face.

Yang Lixin glanced at him sympathetically. Although they were enemies before and could not be called friends now, He Zudao casually said that they were all dead. For a large family like the Feng family, that meant tens of thousands of people.

He Zudao did not offer any words of comfort; instead, he stood up and walked to the side.

Yang Lixin quickly followed. "General, please accept my condolences!" he whispered.

He Zudao shook his head: "I have nothing to be sad about. When I was selecting soldiers in Nanzhen, I knew this day would come. When I left Chang'an, I could have gone to see the old man, but I didn't go in the end because I was afraid that if I went, my heart would soften."

Yang Lixin shuddered.

"Do you know what I've been doing these past ten days or so?" He Zudao asked.

Yang Lixin shook his head.

“I set a trap for the imperial army in Hexi. If they are greedy and dare to cross the river to chase me, I will give them a surprise!” He Zudao said regretfully, “However, the person in charge is cautious. Apart from sending a few small teams to test the waters, we haven’t even seen the main force.”

"If we could take them down, we could avenge Brother Jiang and the others!" Yang Lixin said regretfully.

"Yang Lixin, Jiang Shu is dead. What are you going to do now?"

"What do I have to think about? Of course I'll follow the General! If the General tells me to go east, I'll never go west; if he tells me to beat a dog, I'll never catch a chicken!"

He Zudao laughed and patted the other man on the shoulder: "Good, very good. We have a lot to achieve in Hexi. I am very happy to have someone as capable as you join us."

Yang Lixin turned to look at Feng Congwen behind him: "General, what about that guy? When we were fleeing, I invited him to join us, but he refused and wanted to go and seek refuge with his relatives!"

He Zudao turned and walked to Feng Congwen's side: "What do you want to do in the future? Go to your relatives? It's okay, just say so. If you want to leave, I won't stop you. Because you are now the best witness that I didn't kill your entire Feng family."

"Of course you didn't kill my family, but the army that besieged Taiyuan couldn't have arrived in Shangdang so quickly. Who slaughtered my family?"

“Black Ice Guard!” He Zudao sat down and said, “Zhang Quanyi is the Black Ice Guard’s special agent in charge of operations. This operation must have been planned for a long time. When all of you aristocratic families came out to besiege me, they took advantage of the situation and wiped you out without lifting a finger. Not just your family, but all the aristocratic families of Hedong were wiped out by them this time.”

Feng Congwen clenched his fists so tightly they cracked.

"Want revenge? I advise you to give up that idea! You're all alone now, with a mere seventh-grade Xuan Yuan cultivation level. To the Black Ice Guard, you're nothing but an ant. It's better if you don't show yourself; the moment you do, you'll attract their attention. They won't spare your life. This time, Kou Zhong even went to great lengths to bring out Yi Ming, a Taoist priest who's no match for him. That shows how determined they are. How could they allow such a huge loophole like you to live?"

Yang Lixin, standing to the side, shuddered: "General, is this Yiming a Taoist priest with a whisk? Is he the one who killed Brother Jiang?"

He Zudao nodded: "Yiming and Kou Zhong have always been at odds. This old Taoist priest, for the sake of his sect's interests, has been persuading the emperor to refine and consume elixirs, which has always been a source of resentment for Kou Zhong."

"General, he wouldn't come here to kill him, would he?" Yang Lixin asked.

“If he really dares to come, I wouldn’t mind killing a Xiantian to satisfy my urges.” Seeing Yang Lixin’s incredulous look, He Zhongdao laughed loudly: “A Xiantian is nothing. If he gets caught in the midst of a large army, he’ll still die.”

Feng Congwen took a deep breath. "General, I won't leave. From now on, I'll follow you!"

He Zudao looked at Feng Congwen with a half-smile: "Do you know what I'm going to do next?"

"I know!" Feng Congwen nodded and said, "It seems they're about to sweep through Hexi again!"

He Zudao nodded: "Hexi is a good place, but there are not as many wealthy families here as in Hedong. There are more peasants here, but that suits me just fine. I have gained enough wealth from the Liu family and the Wang family. Next, we will recruit soldiers here, train them, and take care of some of the guys who are close to us."

Will the imperial court launch a campaign against Hexi?

“If they come in small numbers, I’ll eat them; if they come in large numbers, I’ll run away!” He Zudao laughed. “However, I reckon Kou Zhong won’t provoke me anytime soon. To deal with me, we have to do what they planned in Hedong: strike me unexpectedly. It’ll be a battle of soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals. With the few useless people the court has right now, dealing with them would be a piece of cake. They’d be handing me their heads.”

Looking at the arrogant He Zudao, Feng Congwen had to admit that this guy had a fatal attraction for him at this moment.

"I'll help you!" Feng Congwen said. "I believe you need someone like me here. I'm much better than this big, dumb guy!"

Yang Lixin was furious: "You surnamed Feng, what makes you better than me? Come on, let's have a fight and see how I deal with you!"

Feng Congwen ignored Yang Lixin and turned to look at He Zudao.

He Zudao smiled slightly, "I would trust this big, silly guy more, but with you, I will only have a partial trust!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Lixin became smug again and defiantly raised his chin at Feng Congwen.

"I know," Feng Congwen nodded. "I will help you wholeheartedly now, and I will make things clear to you before I leave."

"Don't you think I can accomplish great things?" He Zudao asked coldly.

“The way you’re doing things now, you’ll never achieve anything great!” Feng Congwen said, “Just as you said, if I show my face now, I’ll probably die. So I’m relying on you for protection; you save my life, and I’ll do things for you. If I find a way to save my life in the future, I’ll leave!”

"Okay, deal, let's part amicably!"

(End of this chapter)