Shennong Sequence

Chapter 401 The King of You's inexplicable attitude; It's over, he's been used as a pawn!

In addition, news came from King You that Zhao Yun was invited to his residence that evening to have dinner with Guan Wei, the general guarding Yanmen Pass.

Ultimately, the auction is being held within the territory under their control and defense, and the order at the auction tomorrow will depend on their authority...

In a word,

A separate benefit should be given!
However, Zhao Yun felt uneasy upon hearing about the additional benefits offered.

Did he not offer any benefits?
Oh~,

It turns out that the benefits given were all for the soldiers' flags, and there were no separate benefits given to the flag bearers.

"This was indeed something I hadn't considered before... After all, we're doing business on their turf, so it's only right to give them a separate benefit. It's just that the size of that benefit is debatable."

Zhao Yun thought about the message that King You had sent. This general guarding Yanmen Pass, Guan Wei, came from the Guan family, a military family with a long history of military achievements in the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He should not lack any supplies.

So you came here specifically to give him a heads-up and ask for something in return?
It should be about showing some respect on the surface, at least demonstrating the extraordinary difference between this general guarding the pass and his soldiers.

So the things you give don't have to be expensive, but they have to be special and unique!

After much thought, only the Wood Dragon Egg, the Seed of Life, could meet these conditions.

As evening fell, after Zhao Yun left the Longmen Inn, he specially chose a shop and had a small wooden dragon egg wrapped in luxurious packaging, as if he had specially made dumplings just for this little bit of vinegar.

Then, carrying the luxurious gift box, he walked towards the Youwang Mansion.

After entering, he was led directly to the Zhiyu Pavilion, where King You had specially entertained him last time, by a steward who was waiting for him there.

As they spoke, a man, though amidst the revelry, remained clad in his silver armor, which, under the ever-burning candlelight, gleamed like layers of snow and jade. Upon closer inspection, the armor appeared to be crafted from black gold dredged from the bottom of a frozen pool, combined with cloud-patterned silver foil. Each piece was polished to a mirror-like finish, reflecting the surrounding beaded lanterns, jade vases, and even the candlelight on the table, as if half of the Zhiyu Pavilion had been contained within that silver armor.

The gilded black bird on his shoulder had wings that were spread out so vividly that the red dot in its beak was actually a top-grade fire spirit stone. As he moved, it seemed as if blood was about to drip down, ready to devour anyone who might bite him!

A jade belt was tied around his waist, with a hook made of Lantian warm jade carved into a Qilin. Its eyes were actually two bright yellow top-grade gold spirit stones, which shone with a sharp light even in the light, as if stars were hanging on them, ready to unleash a world-shaking starfall attack at any time!

Looking at the silver-armored general's figure, he stood as straight and upright as a pine tree on a rock. The hem of his black battle robe trailed on the ground, embroidered with gold-embroidered black bird patterns, and with every movement, it seemed as if golden waves surged beneath...

Just then, although he was speaking to King You from the side, he still had one hand on the sword at his waist!
Although he wasn't wearing a helmet, his exposed face was square and his brows and eyes carried a sense of sternness from years of battlefield experience. Yet, when he spoke, his voice was like a bell striking jade, clear and steady.

Even in the presence of a prince like him, he showed no sign of unease, merely lowering his eyes slightly. His imposing presence made the Prince You, dressed in a plain black robe, appear like a faded painting, completely overshadowed.

When it is so:
Silver armor gleamed on the jade banquet, black robes woven with gold and adorned with mermaid smoke.

A black bird crouches on his shoulder, carrying a red jewel; a qilin hangs at his waist, adorned with golden stars.

His voice was like a resounding chime, his breath like a flowing river; before removing his battle robes, he spoke to the king. All the jewels and jade in the hall paled in comparison; his imposing presence commanded the nine borders.

When the two men in the pavilion saw Zhao Yun slowly walking in carrying a gift box, King You nodded gently with a smile in his eyes. The steward then tactfully withdrew from Zhiyu Pavilion and waited in a distant room for his master's call.

"Brother Guan, come, let me introduce you. This is Zhao Yun, a sixth-rank general who breaks through enemy lines." King You continued to recount Zhao Yun's journey: "This time, he traveled thousands of miles from the royal court of the Canglan Grassland before finally returning. He endured many hardships, which was truly remarkable!"

After introducing Zhao Yun, they then introduced the general guarding Yanmen Pass, who was of a rank comparable to that of the magistrate of Zhangzhou in the outer continent of Beiliang: the fifth-rank Xuanwei General, Guanwei!
"General Zhao, this is the garrison commander of our Yanmen Pass, a fifth-rank Xuanwei General: Guanwei Guan General. Moreover, General Guan comes from the prestigious Guan family of Luyang Inner Continent. He is destined for great things in the future..."

Faced with such a handsome general, Zhao Yun naturally sensed his extraordinary qualities and bowed with his hands clasped in a gesture of respect.

"General Guan, I am new here, but I have found a special kind of dragon in the world of true dragons, the life dragon, the Wood Dragon! I happen to have obtained one of its special eggs, the Wood Dragon Egg, which I would like to present to you, General."

Guanwei accepted the gift box from Zhao Yun without ceremony and opened it directly. Inside the luxurious gift box was a small object, about the size of a thumb, with a rich color and a vibrant life force. It could be described as a seed or a wooden dragon egg.

Then Guanwei's resolute face tightened, and he put the wooden dragon egg back into the gift box and closed the box again.

He said, "Since General Zhao is new here, why not use my territory to hold this auction? Although the gifts are rare, they are still a bit too few!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun sensed something was amiss. He felt the gift was acceptable, but he felt it wasn't enough!
However, when Zhao Yun sells the dragon beasts to the soldiers of Yanmen Pass tomorrow, he will specifically accept a 10% bonus... So this batch of dragon beasts will cost him at least seven or eight less top-grade spirit stones.

So much loss, or rather, so much benefit ceded, was only given to the soldiers.

So, does this general guarding Yanmen Pass feel that the wooden dragon eggs he's given aren't enough, and that he should be given more to show he's different? The word 'insatiable greed' suddenly popped into Zhao Yun's mind.

However, since this was an official social occasion, and this General Guan had spoken so frankly,

Even more surprisingly, King You, standing to the side, didn't react much to what this General Guan said, clearly indicating that he already knew some of the details beforehand, but didn't actually reveal them to Zhao Yun.

Perhaps this King You had some ulterior motives when he first summoned him?

Even more remarkably, this General Guanwei was actually invited by King You.

In other words, everything General Guan said and his impolite attitude were actually under King You's tacit approval!
Otherwise, why hasn't King You said a word or two in support of Zhao Yun even now?

Furthermore, Zhao Yun was nominally serving King You!
And once you've pledged your allegiance, you're treated the same way.

I really don't know how I'll manage to deal with things in the future.
This also shows that King You didn't seem to treat himself very well!

Or rather, he had no value to King You and was about to be squeezed out of his last remaining value.
So, I was abandoned, treated like a discarded pawn?

'Everything was fine just three days ago... What happened in between that caused such a rapid change?'

(End of this chapter)