The world is like a prison, my body is holy

"Brother, this time the old man got promoted... something feels off!"

Wang Wengang returned to the General's Mansion from the Qinghe Gang, and Xu Wu, who had rushed back, followed him to the main hall.

After the spring of the first year of Zhaode, Xu Wu transformed into the client, supervising the construction of the Jixia Academy and the City God Temple. He was so busy that he was practically never seen at the General's Mansion unless there was something important going on.

"How to say?"

Wang Wen looked at the mud spots on his body, waved for him to sit down and talk, and then called to the Demon Guards on duty outside the door to go to the canteen and get some food for Xu Wu.

"Think about it, if someone killed someone from our General's Mansion's Inspectorate and then dumped the body there, what would you do?"

Xu Wu didn't beat around the bush with Wang Wen, and went straight to the point: "This time is different from when we killed those corrupt officials before. Although we went a bit too far back then, in the end, we were acting out of public interest and not targeting the emperor. But this time, it's completely different..."

Afterwards, Wang Wen issued a gag order regarding the incident of killing the imperial guard surnamed Wei that day, only claiming to the outside world that the man was rich but heartless, greedy and opportunistic, and had dared to bully his Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, without mentioning the identity of the imperial guard.

Even Huang Xingde didn't know about this.

However, as the second-in-command of the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, Xu Wu was naturally aware of the inside story.

He wasn't as carefree as Wang Wen. Ever since he learned about this, he felt uneasy, as if a thorn was stuck in his heart, and he kept worrying about it.

Today, while he was at the construction site of the City God Temple in the capital, he heard the news that the emperor had promoted Huang Xingde. His heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of foreboding prompted him to drop what he was doing and rush back to the General's Mansion.

Wang Wen sat upright in the hall, grinding ink while rolling up his sleeves. He pondered for a moment based on Xu Wu's words, then suddenly laughed and said, "The young emperor doesn't seem like a good person at all!"

Seeing this, Xu Wu was both shocked and speechless, and said, "You can still laugh?"

Wang Wen glanced at him: "What else can I do? Do you think that guy surnamed Wei will come back to life if I cry out? Do you think the little emperor will stop him from settling scores with us later?"

Xu Wu looked him over suspiciously for a few seconds, then suddenly realized and said, "You knew all along that the emperor had ill intentions?"

"Knowing means knowing..."

Wang Wen nodded: "However, this time, I was indeed negligent and did not expect this."

Being away from the capital, he couldn't feel the intense atmosphere of dynastic change and unconsciously applied the way he interacted with the old emperor to the new one.

Although he had only met the old emperor once, there was a tacit understanding between them.

Xu Wu took the food from the guards on duty, picked up the bowl and took a bite, then asked indistinctly, "How could I know? When did you find out that the emperor had ill intentions?"

Wang Wen glanced at him and said with ill intent, "Knowing too much isn't a good thing!"

Xu Wu curled his lip in disdain and replied vaguely, "Don't try to scare me. Given our relationship, there's only one way I can die here!"

Wang Wen asked curiously, "What kind of death?"

Xu Wu shouted without hesitation, "I, Xu Ergou, have done a terrible business deal that I've done to you and our General's Mansion. You personally chopped me into mincemeat!"

"You think too much!"

Wang Wen glanced at him disdainfully, and under Xu Wu's puzzled gaze, said coldly and ruthlessly, "It's not that big!"

Xu Wu froze for two seconds, then turned his head and "poof" spat out a mouthful of food, coughing violently...

Wang Wen said disdainfully, "You'll have to clean up the area yourself later!"

Xu Wu: "That's a small matter, let's get down to business first."

Wang Wen crossed his arms and said slowly, "Ever since the young emperor appointed me as the Pacification Commissioner of Huainan, I knew he had no good intentions. He was definitely planning to appease me first and then settle scores later!"

"as far as I know……"

Xu Wu wiped his mouth haphazardly with his sleeve, then lowered his head and shoveled a mouthful of food into his mouth: "The current emperor is forty-six years old this year, which can hardly be considered young."

Wang Wen readily agreed: "Alright, Emperor Zhongdeng!"

Xu Wu swallowed the food in his mouth, picked up his chopsticks and pondered for a long time before replying, "Logically speaking, it is common practice for a new emperor to grant a general amnesty and reward all officials upon his ascension to the throne."

Wang Wen nodded: "That's common sense, but don't forget how I got this position as the Pacification Commissioner of Huainan... Oh right, you didn't go that time."

Xu Wu asked in surprise, "Which time?"

Wang Wen: "That time in Chuzhou."

"The time you went to do something with Gu Yue?"

"That was the time."

Xu Wu, his eyes darting around, shoveled a few mouthfuls of food into his mouth, then looked up and tentatively asked, "That deadbeat Yang Ying, was it the one I saw you with?"

Wang Wen exclaimed in shock, "Wow, you clever strategist, you even guessed that?"

Xu Wu smiled smugly, his eyes narrowed: "That's not hard to guess!"

It's not hard to guess. That deadbeat Yang Ying had mentioned to him that he had met his older brother once.

After much thought, he realized that the only time he hadn't accompanied his elder brother was during the trip to Chuzhou...

Wang Wen intended to cultivate this big-headed man without a neck, and said in full: "On that occasion, Yang Ying, representing the then Crown Prince Emperor Zhongdeng, made a deal with me. They helped me secure the position of Pacification Commissioner of Huainan, and in exchange, I ensured that the position of Transport Commissioner of Huainan would fall into the hands of Emperor Zhongdeng's faction."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Let me teach you another lesson: the first thing people do after succeeding in their quest for power is to bury all their shady dealings from the past."

"From this perspective, even if Emperor Zhongdeng pretends to be deaf and dumb and reneges on this debt, I would believe that he didn't have any ulterior motives towards me!"

"But he kept his promise and gave me that position..."

"Let's look at it from another angle. What kind of position is the Pacification Commissioner of Huainan? Have you heard of the regional warlordism and the infighting among military governors at the end of the Tang Dynasty? A Pacification Commissioner with real power is not a military governor, but he is more powerful than one!"

"When he was the crown prince, he used this position to make a deal with me. He was like a son selling his grandfather's land without a care in the world!"

"But he's already the emperor now, and he's giving me this taboo position that the court will definitely try everything to take back. What do you think he's up to?"

Xu Wu listened intently, holding his rice bowl for a long time without taking a single bite.

Coming to his senses, he exclaimed with deep regret, "The hearts of these important people are truly filthy!"

Wang Wen smiled with narrowed eyes, saying with no small amount of malice, "Tell me yourself, how good have I been to you bunch of idiots? You know so much about my dark past, and I haven't killed you!" Xu Wu replied perfunctorily, "Yes, yes, thank goodness you're so magnanimous and spared our lives!"

Wang Wen's expression changed: "Are you going to curse me again?"

Xu Wu: ...

He ate tactfully, shoveling the last bit of food down his throat, then changed the subject: "If that's what you're saying, doesn't that mean we have absolutely no way out?"

Wang Wen: "Are you scared?"

Xu Wu: "Aren't you scared? Aren't you scared?"

Wang Wen: "I'm not afraid. If he's not afraid, why should I be afraid of him?"

Xu Wu: "He's the emperor!"

Wang Wen: "I acknowledge him as the emperor, but he is the emperor to me."

Xu Wu was surprised to find that he was no longer surprised by his elder brother's outrageous remarks.

He believed that the demon-suppressing guards below felt the same way as him...

"If that's the case, then I'll have to go back to my hometown for a visit."

"What are you looking at?"

"Let's see if my family's ancestral graves are buried in some auspicious feng shui location, if they're emitting auspicious smoke, and if any of my descendants will produce a duke or marquis!"

"Holy crap, you really dare to dream!"

"Big brother, don't even mention second brother, we all have the same amount of pockmarks on our faces!"

"Stop talking nonsense, how are the renovations of the City God Temple and the Jixia Academy going?"

Is this the time to talk about this?

"If we don't talk about this, what should we talk about?"

"Shouldn't we talk about how to prevent the emperor from causing trouble? I know you're not afraid, but what about my uncle? He's given him an official position, which means he's got his eye on him. We need to be careful that scoundrel doesn't use my uncle as leverage!"

Wang Wen frowned. He had to admit that what this guy said made sense.

Although if Emperor Zhongdeng had any sense, he wouldn't have made such a losing deal that was not very harmful but extremely humiliating.

But the current Emperor Zhongdeng, no matter how you look at it, doesn't seem like someone with a brain...

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly said, "Ao Lian."

A cloud of mist, shimmering with a bluish light, drifted into the hall and landed, transforming into a handsome, half-grown child clad in silver armor, with rosy lips and white teeth. The child respectfully clasped his hands in a fist and knelt on one knee, saying in a childish voice, "Ao Lian greets the General!"

This guy is Ao Qing's eldest son. He was sent by Ao Qing to the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion before the New Year to replace Bai Zimo, who had been promoted to the position of the Water Lord of Chaohu, as the commander of the General's Mansion's naval camp. His true form is a large blue fish with snake scales. He has a wonderful water control technique that can be described as a natural talent. His strength is not weak underwater.

It is worth mentioning that after Bai Zimo established himself in Chaohu, he also dispatched a group of spirits, led by a strange silver toad named Leng Yue, to Yangzhou to form a naval battalion to serve the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion. Leng Yue also has a strong water control technique. In addition, she has a talent for condensing moonlight into a healing elixir, making her even more of a "tool" than Ao Lian.

The two masters of the water palaces were vying for supremacy in various waterways of Huainan, and the two commanders of the naval battalion were also vying for supremacy in the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion. Whenever the General's Mansion had a mission about aquatic monsters causing trouble, these two fools would compete to lower their prices to accept the mission, and they almost got into a fight in the Earth Net Palace several times.

As the beneficiary, Wang Wen had no choice but to turn a blind eye...

"From now on, the camp of demons under your command will be stationed at Xima Bridge. The rules for setting up camp will remain the same as before, but one more rule will be added: keep a close watch on the Qinghe Gang at all times. If anyone dares to cause trouble or injure anyone in the Qinghe Gang, protect the old master at all costs!"

He paused, then said gently, "Little Lian, do you know why I entrusted such an important task to you instead of Leng Yue?"

Ao Lian, her voice brimming with surprise and delight, exclaimed in her childish voice, "Of course, the General trusts this humble general more!"

Wang Wen smiled and nodded: "Well said, keep up the good work, I have high hopes for you!"

Ao Lian raised his head and slapped his breastplate, making a loud "thump, thump" sound: "General, rest assured, this humble general guarantees to complete the mission. As long as this humble general has a breath left, he will absolutely not let any bad guys harm a single hair on the old master's head!"

Wang Wen waved his hand: "Don't say that. The old master's prudence is certainly important, but you are also a pillar of our General's Mansion. If we really encounter an insurmountable enemy, you can protect the old master and go into the water to escape. I will deal with the villain when I arrive."

Moved by his warm words, Ao Lian's eyes reddened, and she firmly said loudly, "General, rest assured, this humble general knows what to do!"

Wang Wen raised his hand and helped it up: "Keep it up! Once you get a good position, I will definitely arrange for you to establish your own residence and command!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Lian was so happy that she almost jumped up on the spot, nodding her head so much that it was almost blurry.

Xu Wu, standing to the side, was completely stunned: 'Just treat it like a person! It's still a child!'

Wang Wen: 'Kid, if it bites you once, you'll be wetting your diapers next year!'

After Ao Lian left, Wang Wenyou felt uneasy and said thoughtfully, "There's an old saying that goes, 'You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days...' What do you think, should we find something for Emperor Zhongdeng to do? So that he won't be so bored and scheming about these trivial things all day?"

Xu Wu, understanding the implied meaning, whispered, "The north?"

Wang Wen gave him an approving look: "You know what I mean!"

The two brothers chuckled maliciously, their accomplices in malice.

Finally, Wang Wen sighed softly and said, "This may indeed be a good method, but it is somewhat disregarding human life..."

Xu Wu understood what he meant. After pondering for a moment, he whispered and advised, "You can't say that. It's not like we instigated the two brothers to fight each other. They were going to fight anyway. If we give them a push and end this infighting sooner, wouldn't that be the same as saving thousands of lives? That would be a great act of merit for all the families, brother!"

Wang Wen laughed and said, "You're quite the talker, but are you really that sure the King of Qin will win? He's not going to be foolish!"

Xu Wu: "I don't know the King of Qin, how would I know if he can win? But only if he wins can our General's Mansion have a good life!"

Wang Wen pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Those two are brothers after all. If the elder brother is this kind of person, how good can the brothers be? If we put in all the effort and end up with an ungrateful wretch, wouldn't we be reaping what we sow?"

Xu Wu pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Then let's wait and see? The weather is about to warm up, and the war in the north is about to start. Those big shots will be busy. Besides, since the emperor will promote you, it should mean that he won't take any dirty tricks against us for the time being."

Wang Wen thought for a moment, then sighed softly, "Let's see... Sigh, I'm not thinking about it, I haven't done anything illegal or bad, so why can't he tolerate me?"

Xu Wu, finding it difficult to tease him, spoke the truth: "You have no intention of rebelling, but your temper is really too violent!"

The Great Zhou Dynasty cannot tolerate someone as powerful as you! (End of Chapter)