My brother is so cunning

Chapter 990 Enemies meet
After recognizing Wen Rui, several questions in Yun Zhongzi's mind were answered at the same time. He then realized why Mo Liqing and the other familiar immortals avoided him on the way here.

In the Heavenly Court, Yun Zhongzi had many relatives and friends. In addition, he made great contributions during the Investiture of the Gods. Whenever he came to the Heavenly Court to visit relatives and friends, he would be surrounded by immortals and enjoy their adoration. He was very popular wherever he went. Even the Jade Emperor would call him "True Man" in the Lingxiao Palace and give him a seat as a sign of respect.

However, there were two places where Yun Zhongzi dared not visit even though his personal disciples held religious positions.

One is the Dou Mansion, where the Golden Spirit Mother resides, and the other is the Lei Mansion, which is commanded by Wen Zhong.

Especially at the Lei residence, Yun Zhongzi would secretly meet with his disciple Lei Zhenzi, fearing that if he lingered near the Lei residence, Wen Zhong would see him and find him an eyesore and annoyance.

Since the Investiture of the Gods was established and Wen Zhong was granted the title of Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation of Thunder and Lightning, Yun Zhongzi has been hesitant to go out during thunderstorms. On several occasions, whether intentionally or accidentally, several bolts of lightning that had missed their mark almost struck him.

Wen Zhong was, after all, a gentleman. It's better to offend a gentleman than a villain. Even though Yun Zhong had a blood feud with Wen Zhong, he did not suffer any real retaliation.

Yun Zhongzi avoided seeing Wen Zhong not because he was afraid of him, but because meeting him would be too awkward and might even worsen the already precarious situation of Lei Zhenzi in the Lei family.

But to everyone's surprise, Wen Zhong's good-for-nothing son from back then, after two hundred years, has now been granted the title of Heavenly Venerable.

Five hundred years ago, this man was just an ordinary person. Although he caused countless troubles for the Zhou army with his cunning and ruthlessness, Yun Zhongzi did not take him seriously.

Now that it has fallen into the hands of Wen Zhong's treacherous son, Wen Zhong himself may not care that after his death, his son will seek revenge for his father's murder. This is in accordance with the laws of heaven and human ethics, so he really has nothing to complain about.

This perfectly illustrates the Western religious saying, "Cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable." The more triumphant he was when he killed Wen Zhong, the more pathetic he is now in Wen Rui's hands.

Why are Mo Liqing and all the acquaintances from the Heavenly Court avoiding him like the plague?
These immortals were all old and shrewd, having been in the Heavenly Court system for a long time. They were very good at reading the air and sensing people's moods. When they saw him being escorted by the super puppet created by Wen Rui, they immediately guessed the cause and effect. They speculated that Wen Rui had finally begun to settle scores after gaining power, and the first one to be punished was Yun Zhongzi, who had the greatest grudge against the Wen family.

In the eyes of Mo Liqing and the other familiar immortals, Yun Zhongzi's capture was not due to a coincidence or misunderstanding at all. It was likely that Wen Rui had sent puppets to storm the mountain gate and drag the bewildered Yun Zhongzi out of his secluded cultivation realm. They were then to take him to the Creation Heavenly Palace and arrange him in eighteen different ways to vent their anger.

Given Wen Rui's immense power and infamous reputation in the Heavenly Court, who would dare to offend him?

He was terrified that if he said even a single word to Yun Zhongzi, the puppets would film it and report it to Wen Rui, thus implicating him.

Yun Zhongzi was well-versed in human affairs and, from the various behaviors of these immortals, he guessed that Wen Rui must be a very powerful figure in the Heavenly Court, otherwise the gods would not be so afraid of him.

"You... what merit do you possess to have been granted the title of Heavenly Venerable?" Yun Zhongzi forced himself to remain calm and rebuked, "You can't do anything to me! I have rendered meritorious service to the Heavenly Court, and I want to see the Jade Emperor!"

"Master Uncle, you've been in seclusion for too long. You've become a bit dull-witted."

Wen Rui sighed and said, "Times have changed. This is not the ancient era when immortals had plenty of time to squander. In this era, things are developing rapidly and changing every day. We must seize every minute. If we waste ten or eight years, we will fall behind the pace of the times. You dared to go into seclusion for two hundred years. Now look what happened. When you come out of seclusion, you will find everything very unfamiliar."

As Wen Rui spoke, he gestured to the metal puppets, and the two puppets that were holding Yun Zhongzi's arms released their iron claws and let him go. After releasing Yun Zhongzi, the puppets that were escorting him turned around and left the main hall.

Once the restraints were released, the puppets guarding him also left, leaving only Wen Rui and Yun Zhongzi in the main hall.

Yun Zhongzi recalled the scene five hundred years ago when he caught up with Wen Rui, who was leading his army in retreat, after killing Wen Zhong. At that time, he looked down at the mortal boy on horseback, who was running wildly and in a sorry state, and he didn't even have the thought of killing him.

Wen Rui was too weak at that time; his schemes and tricks were utterly insignificant in the face of such a vast difference in strength.

However, just as he was about to finish off this scourge with a single sword strike, he discovered that the man was surrounded by auspicious light of merit, protected by the Heavenly Dao. Killing him would be inauspicious and would incur considerable evil karma, so he restrained himself and did not make a move.

Now, alone in a hall with Wen Rui, the puppets he created are indeed incredibly powerful, but what about the strength of the real Wen Rui?

Is it like it was 500 years ago, only knowing how to scheme and plot, possessing the position of a Heavenly Venerable but lacking the cultivation to match it?

Wen Rui, seemingly oblivious to the danger, casually rose from the Heavenly Venerable Throne, slowly walked down the jade steps, and came to Yun Zhongzi's side, laughing, "Uncle-Master, you have no idea how desperate I was when I watched my father die at your hands."

His tone was somewhat wistful: "I've put in so much effort and come up with so many solutions, but I still can't change the fate of even one of my closest relatives or friends."

"When you caught up with me, I was in utter despair because I sensed killing intent from you. I thought that all was over and I was about to be sent to the deepest hell, never to rise again."

"Sigh... Looking back now, I'm filled with emotion. I never thought I'd be where I am today, hahaha... cough cough..."

The more Yun Zhongzi listened, the more surprised and uncertain he became. Wasn't this the kind of declaration a villain would make before turning the tables and ruthlessly killing his former enemies?
Yun Zhongzi swept his divine sense across the hall and sensed that the incredibly powerful metal puppets had retreated more than a hundred meters away. He felt that this was a rare opportunity, and if he didn't take action while the villains were talking, he feared he would never have another chance.

The Giant Sword and the Heavenly Fire Pillar had already been taken by the metal puppet, but a puppet is still a puppet, and its ability to detect with divine sense is relatively weak, so it did not discover Yun Zhongzi's hidden storage bag.

While Wen Rui paced back and forth, recounting the various regrets from the Investiture of the Gods war, such as how his master and senior brother Dao Ancestor did not heed good advice, and how his father refused to adopt the suggestion to launch a coup to depose King Zhou...

Yun Zhongzi secretly took out a thick gold and silver rod from his hidden pouch, and with all his might, smashed it down on the back of Wen Rui's head.

This golden and silver rod was originally a weapon that he forged and gave to his disciple Lei Zhenzi. Later, Lei Zhenzi was deified and ascended to heaven, and was named the Thunder God of the Thunder Department. His only weapons were the Thunder Hammer and the Lightning Nail. So the golden and silver rod was returned to his master.

Originally, it was kept in the storage bag as a keepsake to remember his disciple, but today Yun Zhongzi happened to be without a suitable weapon, so he took it out to use.

(End of this chapter)