Gao Wu Da Qin: You don't want your secret to be known, do you?

Chapter 198 A Fateful Encounter: Liu Bang Meets Xiang Yu, Youth Like Stars, I Like Mud

The current situation is changing rapidly.

Just as Qin Feng was busily preparing for the sacrificial ceremony, while the main course was being served...

The winds outside have changed again.

The Zhou Emperor suddenly softened his stance, stating publicly that the Celestials no longer wanted the Foundation's weapons of mass destruction. Those who received the weapons could keep them, and as long as they did not collude with the Foundation, the Celestials were even willing to return the gold and silver they had received as a sign of divine favor!

The sudden change in attitude left many powerful clans and families in the world dumbfounded.

What does that mean?

Didn't you guys previously shout about fighting and killing, saying that anyone who got weapons of mass destruction was a traitor and would die?

How come they're tolerating our possession of weapons now, only asking us not to associate with the foundation? They're even offering to give us money!

Has the celestial being changed its gender?! The numerous human forces, who had never seen money return before, were shocked and made various reactions.

The first reaction was to actively respond to the call of the Celestials. These powerful clans originally had no connection with the Qin Feng Foundation. Now that they could make money from both Qin Feng and the Celestials, they would definitely not let go of this opportunity to make money. The main representative was the royal family of Yan Kingdom.

The second reaction was to be wary of the Celestials' call, after all, they had suffered too many losses at the hands of the Celestials and Qin Feng, and dared not accept any benefits offered by either side. The main representatives of this reaction were the royal family of Qin.

The third reaction is that the forces that have already broken with the Celestials and sent their disciples to join the Jianye City Foundation Alliance are disdainful of the Celestials' call. In their own words, "We just announced that we are joining the Foundation to participate in the grand event, and you immediately give us money. If we continue to join and bet, does that mean the Celestials can marry a celestial maiden to our clan leader next?"

People all over the world have different opinions. Some feel that the blessings from heaven and man are a blessing and that they should know when to stop, while others feel that what heaven and man have given is not enough and that they need to increase their efforts.

Regardless, the general public's opinion is that neither Qin Feng nor Tianren are good people. The fiercer their fight is, the happier we are, and the more benefits we will gain!

"The Celestial Beings have been pushed to the brink by Qin Feng this time."

"They're actually copying Qin Feng by throwing money around to win people's hearts!"

"Just as my father said!"

"The real way to win people's hearts and minds is often not through the sophisticated business and media battles depicted in novels and dramas, but through the most straightforward and unpretentious method: simply throwing money at the problem!"

"Use money to win people's hearts and minds, use money to destroy a moral high ground!"

Fusu strolled leisurely along the Iron Enclosure Mountain.

Beside Fusu, Meng Po, gentle as water, her long dress like snow, her gentleness always present, asked, "In your opinion, sir, who will ultimately win—the celestial being or Qin Feng?"

Fusu sighed, "Qin Feng is my brother, of course I hope Qin Feng can win!"

"But Qin Feng's fortune has already been exhausted, while Tianren has only just begun to spend his wealth. If it's just a matter of comparing gold and silver, Qin Feng has already lost."

"But Qin Feng never plays by the rules, so he might have some hidden cards that I don't know about. That's why I'm worried that Qin Feng might win."

Meng Po was bewildered by Fu Su's complex feelings. "Young Master, you want Qin Feng to win, yet you're also afraid he'll win. This is such a contradictory thought!"

Is it contradictory? No, it's not contradictory at all.

I'm afraid my brother is suffering, but I'm even more afraid he's driving a Land Rover.

Fusu had such pure and simple feelings for Qin Feng.

Fu Su said, "I just want Qin Feng to win a small victory, not too much. If he wins too much, I will be in a very passive position."

Meng Po didn't quite understand Fu Su's complicated feelings for Qin Feng, so she could only nod in agreement.

To Meng Po, she was merely a concubine of the young master, nothing more.

The Naihe Bridge had long been captured by Zhang Zhi'en's troops, and the original layout of one city, three mountains, four palaces, and ten government offices had become history.

In the underworld today, whoever has soldiers, whoever has power, and whoever speaks has the final say!

Even Iron Enclosure Mountain exists only as part of Qin Feng's concubine's dowry; it is not the real Iron Enclosure Mountain that has held out until now through its own strength.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Big brother! Big brother, are you there?"

Fusu said irritably, "The door's unlocked, come in!"

Hu Hai came running over excitedly, "Brother, my husband's invitation!"

Fusu was taken aback. "We were just talking about Qin Feng a moment ago, and now Qin Feng has sent a letter. Can this kid predict the future?"

Hu Hai handed over the letter, "Brother, take a look quickly, what did the master say?"

After Fusu opened the letter and read it, he exclaimed, "Attending the ceremony in Fengdu? Give me a surprise!"

"What kind of magic potion is Qin Feng up to? Why did he suddenly decide to perform a grand sacrificial ceremony for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? He even wants to bring out the tablet of Emperor Xin! Could it be that his father's establishment of the Human King Memorial Day recently provoked him?"

"That doesn't make sense! Right now, he's been fighting with the Celestials until he's lost everything and his weapons are all gone. He's probably in a huge rush, so why would he be in the mood for any kind of anniversary celebration? Why is he suddenly thinking about holding a grand sacrificial ceremony for the King of Men?"

"It's like your house is on fire and about to burn down, but instead of being worried, you leisurely go to the teahouse next door for tea!"

"Is this the brain circuitry a normal carbon-based life form should have?"

Meng Po asked, "Didn't he say he wanted to give the young master a surprise?"

Fusu said irritably, "A surprise? What kind of surprise could he possibly have in store for me! I'm already grateful he didn't scare me! But where is Fengdu, which he mentioned in his letter?"

Meng Po said, "Fengdu is where the rift between the mortal realm and the underworld meets, and it's also known as the Ghost Realm! Last time, the celestial beings rebuilt the secret passage to Qiaoshan through Fengdu!"

Hu Hai, however, asked with great interest, "Brother, what exactly is this so-called surprise?"

Fusu shook his head and said, "Qin Feng's surprise is hard to guess, but one thing is certain: this surprise must be huge and explosive! Otherwise, he wouldn't have invited so many people! This letter reveals that, besides me, Master Guigu, Master Meng, the Four Sages of Confucianism, the heads of the various schools of thought, the princes of the Seven Kingdoms, even the heads of the Eighteen Blessed Lands, and even the envoys of the Zhou royal family! He invited everyone except the Celestials!"

Hu Hai was dumbfounded. "I...I'm speechless! Has my husband gone mad?! He's already broken ties with the Celestials to such an extent, and the Foundation's combined fleet even launched a surprise attack on the Zhou Emperor's personal guard! Why would he invite the Zhou Emperor's envoys?! The Zhou Emperor's envoys will surely cause chaos there!"

Fusu said, "Although Qin Feng has broken ties with the Celestials, he hasn't truly broken ties with the Zhou Emperor. The last ambush on the Zhou Emperor's personal guards was orchestrated by several vice presidents; Qin Feng himself was unaware of it!"

"Perhaps Qin Feng wanted to win over the Zhou emperor so that the emperor wouldn't take sides too obviously."

"But I reckon the chances are slim. If the Zhou emperor could be won over, he would have done so long ago. The Zhou emperor's lineage is nothing but a lackey of the Heavenly Emperor!"

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Meng Po, get ready to come with me to Fengdu for the ceremony."

Hu Hai hurriedly said, "Brother, I want to go too! Can I go with you?"

Fusu said, "Alright, hurry back and prepare, we'll set off immediately! The grand sacrificial ceremony is tomorrow at noon, don't be late!"

Qin Feng's invitations, like snowflakes, drifted to the hands of various influential forces.

Everyone was already very interested in Qin Feng's conflict with the Celestials, as he distributed his wealth, gold, silver, and weapons to the people of the world.

This is a righteous act that even Fan Li in the past never did, and it can be called the most amazing performance art in all of history!

Now that Qin Feng has suddenly invited everyone to a banquet, even those forces that don't have much of a stake in Qin Feng are eager to meet him.

Nothing more than understanding Qin Feng's mental state, and seeing if this legendary champion who won first place on three lists has really gone mad!

In an instant, representatives from the seven kingdoms, heads of various schools of thought, and leaders of the eighteen grotto heavens all rushed to Fengdu, this little-known place.

Even the Zhou emperor, who had openly broken ties with Qin Feng, actually put on a respectable and formal attitude this time, saying that although they were enemies, they should still observe etiquette and treat each other with courtesy. He also said that they should attend the enemy's banquet. The Zhou emperor dispatched an elder of his clan to lead a delegation to Fengdu.

Fengdu City, a ghostly place, is little known.

Fengdu is located at the junction of the outer region and the heartland. The terrain is treacherous. The entire terrain of Fengdu is shaped like the mouth of a gourd, with a small mouth and a large belly. The face is like the back of a bow, and the back is like a bowstring. Apart from the stone steps and paths at the entrance, the rest is all mountains of knives and trees of swords, making it extremely dangerous.

This place was originally the border between Zhuolu and Youzhou, but because it is the collision zone between the Earthly Immortal Realm plate and the Underworld plate, the Yin and Yang alternate here, and there are endless spirits and monsters. Not to mention humans, even demons would find it difficult to survive in such a place where Yin and Yang are mixed.

So, after a while, neither Youzhou nor Zhuolu showed any interest in this place.

The fact that the two major powers are not interested in this place does not mean that people in the world are not interested in it. Many evil sects have come here to cultivate their influence, attempting to build a great sect.

As a result, all sorts of demons and monsters have been lurking here for years, and it has gradually become a stinking latrine in the realm of earthly immortals.

Qin Feng's invitation this time was so generous it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was inviting everyone to eat in the toilet.

If this were anyone else, many powerful figures would probably be furious! A feast in the toilet? Are you trying to humiliate us?!

However, this time it was Qin Feng who was hosting the banquet, and all the guests were important figures. At this point, what to eat and where to eat were no longer important!

The important thing is that I got to eat at the banquet!

Receiving an invitation from Qin Feng means, in a sense, that the Foundation's Qin Feng is willing to address you as a powerful figure, a number one person! You are one of our people!

This recognition of identity is extremely important!

Therefore, the moment they received the invitations, they all announced to the public that they were going to the banquet! Those who didn't receive invitations could only stare in envy.

At the gates of Fengdu City, the scene was bustling with activity as people from all walks of life arrived.

Because this place is a place where yin and yang are mixed, spaceships from the mortal realm are prone to breaking down here, so most people travel by traditional means of transportation, such as horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts.

Everyone who enters the city looks up several times to admire the magnificent city of Fengdu.

The city walls of Fengdu are thirty zhang high, with majestic, snow-silver composite bricks. Plasma shields and defensive fortifications can be faintly seen above the city walls. Even a layman can tell at a glance that this is a long-standing defensive fortress, and certainly not a small city that has sprung up recently.

"How impressive!"

Dozens of valiant young knights reined in their horses and stood before the city gate, gazing up at Fengdu City and sighing in admiration.

"This city wall is as big as the main city wall of our hometown, Jiangdong!"

"It's more impressive than the city wall in my hometown! Our old city wall is a historical relic! I reckon the bricks of this one built by the foundation were forged from ultra-high-strength star-shaped materials!"

"Excellent, truly excellent!"

The leader was a young man who wore a white brocade inner garment and a black rhinoceros-hide armor on the outside, with wolf-like arms and an ape-like waist, and was ten feet tall.

The young man, no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, rode a rare black horse that was over two zhang long. Looking at the enormous walls of Fengdu, he laughed heartily, "Let's go, brothers, let's go in and take a look!"

"Walk!"

The large group of Jiangdong youths were about to rush into the city gate.

Just then, at the city gate, a burly man roared, "Stop right there! Who gave you permission to ride into the city on horseback! Get off your horses!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a roar like a tiger's howl filled the air, vast and deafening!

Half of the horses ridden by the young men were so frightened that they lay lifeless on the ground, while the other half were foaming at the mouth and unconscious.

The boys fell to the ground with a clatter, all covered in dust and dirt.

The dashing young man at the very front reined in his black horse and said coldly, "Who are you! How dare you disturb my Jiangdong warhorse! What is your crime!"

The man who roared like a tiger was over two meters tall, clad in a suit of formidable armor, with a bushy beard and a fierce expression. A pair of meteor hammers hung at his waist as he arrogantly declared, "I am Fan Kuai, the commander of the Fengdu City garrison and the company commander of the Foundation! Where did you come from?! Daring to ride a horse into Fengdu! Don't you know the Foundation's rules? Upon entering the city, you must dismount!"

The young man leaped off his horse, glanced coldly at Fan Kuai, and declared, "I am Xiang Yu of the Xiang clan, a scion of Jiangdong!"

Fan Kuai sized up Xiang Yu. "I've heard of you. You're a distinguished disciple of the Xiang family for generations. Your uncle is Xiang Liang, right?"

Xiang Yu raised an eyebrow. "That's right! Xiang Liang is my uncle! Xiang Yan is my clan chief! In a sense, my Xiang family is also part of the foundation. As for the members of the foundation, you killed dozens of our warhorses with a single shout. How do you intend to settle this score?"

Fan Kuai said, "You broke the rules, and I stopped you. Was I wrong?"

Xiang Yu said, "This is my first time in Fengdu City. Your rules aren't written outside the gate, so how would I know them! Even if you wanted to stop me, couldn't you have just given a normal shout? Why hold back your strength and cause my brothers to lose their warhorses! You must give me an explanation today!"

Upon hearing this, the young men from Jiangdong swarmed around, shouting, "Give us an explanation, Fan Kuai!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Kuai was about to roar again when a voice came from outside the crowd, "My goodness! Fan Kuai, you've caused trouble again!"

From outside the crowd, two squads of Foundation soldiers entered. The leader, a middle-aged man dressed in a chivalrous robe, strode forward, his face full of distress. "Can't you give your brother a break? I just went to the outhouse, and you're already fighting with someone! What's going on?!"

The visitor was none other than Liu Bang.

It is said that Liu Bang was also very lucky. After receiving angel investment from Qin Feng, he was doing very well in import and export smuggling in Aolai Kingdom.

Unfortunately, soon after the war in the East China Sea ended, Qin Feng distributed many places in Aolai Kingdom, and import and export became open and official, making the shady business of smuggling impossible.

So Liu Bang hatched a wicked plan and brought his brothers to Fengdu to start a lucrative business of smuggling goods between the underworld and the city.

For some reason, Qin Feng suddenly said some time ago that Fengdu had offended him, and then the Foundation sent heavenly soldiers to earth, quickly extinguishing the forces there.

As an old friend of the foundation, Liu Bang was highly valued by the vice president, Lord Mengchang, who appointed him as a chiliarch (a high-ranking official).

Faced with his elder brother Liu Bang's questioning, Fan Kuai angrily pointed at Xiang Yu's nose, "That bastard, he led his brothers and rode into the city on horseback, breaking the rules! Our foundation's rules state that everyone must dismount before entering the city! He didn't listen, so I stopped them, and he got angry and even wanted to fight me! Elder brother, you be the judge, whose fault is this?!"

Xiang Yu, hot-blooded with youthful vigor, roared, "Rules? I don't even know your rules, and they're not written at the city gate! How am I supposed to know I've broken the rules! And that roar of yours was martial arts; it killed all my horses, what do you say to that?!"

Liu Bang blinked. "Fan Kuai, I told you to post the foundation's rules, but you didn't!"

Fan Kuai paused for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "I was drinking that day and forgot about it."

Enraged, Liu Bang kicked Fan Kuai in the backside. "With your looks and attitude, all you do is drink, drink, drink, and forget all about important matters! Get out!"

Fan Kuai lowered his head and left sheepishly.

Liu Bang looked at Xiang Yu and said with a smile, "What's your name, young man?"

Xiang Yu said, "I am Xiang Yu of the Xiang clan of Jiangdong! Xiang Liang is my uncle!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bang laughed heartily, "So you are a nephew of Lord Xiang Liang! Indeed, a family of heroes, with extraordinary bearing! I have long heard of Lord Xiang Liang's illustrious reputation and hold the Xiang family in high esteem. Your presence today, Young Master Yu, truly makes me marvel at the Xiang clan's continuous stream of heroes and outstanding talents!"

"My brother just acted recklessly, spoiling the mood of these young masters from Jiangdong. Liu Bang hereby apologizes to everyone!"

"I will compensate you double for all the warhorses you lost! In addition, I invite everyone to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in Fengdu City for a welcome-back feast as an apology!"

"Could you spare my brother for Liu Bang's sake?"

Hearing Liu Bang's words, Xiang Yu's anger subsided considerably.

As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, and one shouldn't hit a smiling face. This is the foundation's territory, and Liu Bang seems to be an official of the foundation. If he really pushes his luck and doesn't let things go, his uncle will definitely beat him if he finds out.

Xiang Yu cupped his hands in greeting, "No need for Brother Liu's banquet. Since it's all a misunderstanding, we'll take our leave now!"

Liu Bang hurriedly said, "Let's have a meal together! Why are you in such a hurry to leave!"

Xiang Yu remained silent, spurred his horse, and led his Jiangdong disciples away.

Behind Liu Bang, Fan Kuai chimed in, "What a bunch of idiots! They're all so arrogant! Our brother invited them to dinner, and they refused!"

Xiao He said, "The Xiang clan is a prominent family in the Chu state. In other places, Xiang Yu probably wouldn't even say a word to us! He's only refraining from arguing with us because of the foundation."

Fan Kuai said unhappily, "What kind of behavior is this! Is the Xiang clan so great? If they were, they still had to come to the Foundation for protection! If it weren't for the Foundation supporting them, the Celestials would have already attacked the Xiang family and wiped out the entire clan! And yet, this brat Xiang Yu still dares to act arrogantly towards his elder brother, damn it! He's shameless! One day, I'll teach this Xiang Yu a lesson!"

"Enough!" Liu Bang roared. "Go and hang the foundation's rules on the city wall! Don't let anything else go wrong!"

"What a mess! The sacrificial ceremony is tomorrow! And they're still fighting today! It's utterly shameful!"

"What are you looking at? Everyone do your own thing!"

Liu Bang, sword at his side, stormed off.

That kid named Xiang Yu didn't leave a deep impression on Liu Bang. In fact, Liu Bang didn't even keep him in mind. After all, he was just a scion of a noble family. There were plenty of noble families in the world, and what did they have to do with Liu Bang?

They are the stars and the moon in the sky!

But I, Liu Bang, am just mud on the ground!

Guys like us are destined to never cross paths!

However, the wheels of fate had already begun to turn.

(End of this chapter)

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