Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 637 Warning from the State
Fifteen minutes is a short time, but sometimes it can feel like an eternity.

For example, Di Bai and his party, who are currently confronting Lu Zheng.

Despite the relatively cool weather and the absence of any oppressive aura, the demon guards present all felt immense pressure, their backs drenched in cold sweat.

Inside a secret room in the city lord's mansion.

Several figures dressed in ceremonial robes sat in separate places, their expressions not very pleasant.

"There's less than a quarter of an hour left. What do you think, should we...?"

Some people glanced at the others, trying to gauge their reactions.

A middle-aged man, his expression shifting between light and dark, finally spoke: "If you choose to take action, I will not get involved."

The expressions on everyone's faces changed upon hearing this.

Someone couldn't help but say, "This is your Di Kingdom's territory. He's come here in person now, why are you cowering like this..."

The middle-aged man sighed. Although they had made some arrangements, Lu Zheng's arrival made him realize how difficult and impossible the matter was.

Unbeknownst to outsiders, he possessed a rare treasure.

It is a piece of bronze, an artifact that was once nurtured among the national treasures of the Di Kingdom. It is connected to the fate of the Di Kingdom and can predict personal fortune and misfortune.

When Lu Zheng arrived, the middle-aged man felt the scorching heat emanating from the bronze plate, a sign of great misfortune.

Even though he had experienced many things before, he had never seen this thing react so strongly.

He was not entirely sure what the future held for the others.

But if he gets involved, he'll likely face a near-certain death.

Seeing that the middle-aged man had chosen to back down, the group fell silent for a moment.

Without the middle-aged man making arrangements here, their chances of winning against Lu Zheng are even lower.

Of course, they already thought the chances were slim.

The middle-aged man said, "We don't know what kind of powerful treasures this boy possesses. We shouldn't take any risks. We've heard that the Wei Kingdom will send people to investigate Lu Zheng's background. Let's be patient for a while longer."

Everyone thought to themselves, "They've come to your territory to demand an explanation, and you've tolerated it. They can certainly tolerate it too..."

Someone asked curiously, "Who will Wei send?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "I don't know yet. I suppose he is a Buddhist. If a high-ranking monk comes forward to deal with it with Buddhist teachings, the righteousness of Confucianism and Taoism will not be able to prevail."

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed inwardly that they still hadn't cultivated the right path, and their skills were completely suppressed when facing someone like Lu Zheng.

Fortunately, there aren't many geniuses like Lu Zheng; I've only met one like him in all my years of life.

They now only hope that the Wei Kingdom will exert more pressure and take Lu Zheng away.

The middle-aged man turned to one of his subordinates and ordered, "Kill those people, and return the valuables intact."

Some couldn't help but ask, "What if he still won't let it go?"

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then said, "Try to meet his demands and offer some compensation. If that's still not enough, we'll have no choice but to..."

……

"Time is up."

Lu Zheng looked at the group of people in front of him and suddenly spoke.

Di Bai and the others felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Some of them even started making hand seals, preparing to make a quick getaway.

"Young Master Lu, spare his life!"

A faint sound drifted from the city to Lu Zheng's location.

A figure flew over and said to Lu Zheng, "We have indeed discovered a courtyard in the city where outsiders are hiding. We have already sent people to suppress them. In a little while, we will send all the people and valuables to Young Master Lu."

A short while later, a group of people quickly arrived.

Some people brought over severed heads, others carried storage bags, and still others brought goods that couldn't fit in the storage bags—all of it was delivered.

"These people should be the ones Young Master Lu is looking for. According to the rules, we should execute them on the spot..."

They naturally couldn't send living people to confront Lu Zheng, so they sent a bunch of dead heads.

"We've searched the entire place and found all the valuables they brought. Please take a look, young master."

"I wonder if this will satisfy Young Master Lu?"

Lu Zheng sensed that there was more to the man's words than met the eye.

Lu Zheng spoke up: "What if I'm not satisfied?"

The visitor responded with a smile and said in a low voice, "This incident is also our dereliction of duty. We should give Young Master Lu some compensation and try our best to meet his requirements."

Lu Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. The person behind this didn't come out, but instead had others negotiate terms with him. Were they that afraid of him?

Is this an admission of weakness, or is there some other intention?
Lu Zheng thought for a moment and then said, "I want people. I want all the people or demons in Quanqiu City and the villages and towns under its jurisdiction who are without status or who are slaves! If people of other status are willing to come with me, you cannot stop them."

Lu Zheng lacks nothing. The only compensation this place can offer him is people. His only request is to rescue the people here.

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this. They thought Lu Zheng would make an exorbitant demand for some precious cultivation resources as compensation, but he actually wanted people.

However, it's not easy to do this job if you need people; it involves quite a few people...

The visitor was somewhat confused about Lu Zheng's intentions when he made such a request.

He said, "This matter involves too many people and cannot be resolved in a short time. Let us go back and discuss the procedures. Young Master Lu, why don't you go into the city and rest for a while? We have arranged a place for you..."

Lu Zheng said calmly, "No need. The scenery outside the city is quite nice. I'll wait here..." Upon seeing this, the person gestured to Di Bai, asking him to stay and watch over the place, and then bowed and left.

Di Bai felt a chill run down his spine; why couldn't he leave?

Lu Zheng looked at the demon guards and said slowly, "Do you want to come with me?"

The demon guards froze, wondering whether they wanted to or not.

It feels like no matter how I put it, it doesn't quite fit.

They could only hunch their shoulders and become like quails.

……

"You need people? Just people?"

"What's the point of having so many people? Does he think he doesn't have enough people on his side?"

Upon hearing Lu Zheng's request, the people in the secret room exchanged bewildered glances.

Given their moral character, it would naturally be difficult for them to understand Lu Zheng's request.

Some people couldn't help but wonder, "Could he be setting some kind of trap? He said he wanted everything, but if something goes wrong and he misses one or two people, wouldn't that give him another opportunity?"

"Why don't we just give it to him in cash?"

"They want the person, not money? Do you think they'd even consider that little bit of money?"

"Brother Di, what do you say? After all, this is the Di Kingdom, and we're asking you for people..."

Di Lie's lips twitched. He was doing just fine in the capital, yet they had to drag him into this to deal with Lu Zheng.

Now they don't have the ability to suppress the other party, and they've caused this mess.

Feeling the warmth in his chest, Di Lie rubbed his temples.

"He's just a person, give him the land! How many people can there be in this hundred-mile area? What difference would it make if we gave him the whole place?"

The crowd couldn't help but cast strange glances. "Your Di Kingdom is so powerful, you just give away a city like that?"

"Cough cough..."

Di Lie coughed lightly, "I was just saying, how could we possibly divide up our territory like this?"

Everyone had different thoughts. To be honest, this place didn't have much spiritual energy, so it wasn't very valuable.

The major powers in the Northern Region are constantly fighting each other, and some territories can even change hands several times a year.

Someone else said, "He wouldn't take the person, but then have other demands later, would he?"

The subordinate who returned to report said, "He didn't make any other demands. Given his character, he shouldn't be so shameless."

Everyone agreed with this. Even though they were on the opposite side of Lu Zheng, they had to admit that a human who cultivated righteousness was still a trustworthy person.

So, he said he was going to hunt down the fugitive, and then he actually came all by himself...

They arrived so quickly that not all of their people were present and they were not fully prepared.

And for some reason, Di Lie chickened out before all of them, the outsiders.

Di Lie said, "Go, give him all the people he wants, and it doesn't matter if you give him more."

Di Lie couldn't wait to send Lu Zheng away so he could leave safely and return to the capital to report the situation.

Di Lie subconsciously touched his chest, realizing that dealing with this kid couldn't be done so simply.

If a war were to break out now, the Di Kingdom would obviously be the first to be affected.

Some time ago, someone suggested setting up this place, saying it was to guard against Lu Zheng.

Now, no matter how Di Lie thinks about it, he feels that someone is trying to drag their Di Kingdom down with them.
Otherwise, why would they choose this place out of kindness? Is it simply because it's close to Lu Zheng's territory?
Di Lie kept a straight face, but inwardly he cursed, feeling that these old monsters had ill intentions...

It's no wonder that Di Lie would make such a guess, after all, the relationships between these people weren't good enough to be able to rely on each other for life.

It's normal to be betrayed by a friend you've known for years.

This is the way of survival in the Northern Region.

Not long ago, they were able to watch Huai Jun beheaded by Lu Zheng without lifting a finger, and now they might just sit idly by and watch others suffer.

Everyone knows that the alliance between these forces is fragile.

They've only managed to unite now because of Lu Zheng's arrival.

"I heard that Hu Qing, that vixen, is planning to bring people to join Lu Zheng?"

At this point, some people got bored while waiting and started chatting about other people.

"The Heavenly Maiden of Desire? I think it would be strange if she didn't bow down. Her methods are somewhat effective against us, but against someone like Lu Zheng, they're probably useless..."

"She exudes righteousness! If she has the ability to disrupt Lu Zheng's mind, I'll write my name backwards!"

Someone chuckled and said, "But people like those from the Desire Sect might not be so willing to take them."

"Besides the Goddess of Desire, there are others watching..."

Di Lie stroked his chin, then suddenly realized something. "The fact that he came here today means he's finally free of energy and can go wherever he wants."

Upon hearing this, everyone's conversation immediately ceased.

They were just surprised by Lu Zheng's arrival, but now that they think about it, things seem to be more serious than they thought.

(End of this chapter)