My lady, I'm going to rebel.

After Teng Qin and the others left, Qi Xiao looked at Mu Zheng again, his expression noticeably calmer. "Heroes have always emerged from youth, and young hero Mu Zheng is truly extraordinary."

Mu Zheng clasped his fists and saluted: "Lord Qi, thank you for your kindness. Thank you for rescuing me just now. It's a mess here, why don't we go somewhere else."

Qi Xiao took one look at the mess on the ground and said with a smile, "Very good!"

Mu Zheng was not surprised by Qi Yuxiu's arrival, but he was very confused about the arrival of the leader of the Black Clan.

Could it be because he promised Qi Yuxiu to help him seize the throne?

The few of them moved to Mu Zheng's room. After they sat down, Qi Xiao spoke first: "Young Master Mu, I've heard a lot about you from my daughter. I came here this time to introduce you to a business."

"Oh?" Qi Xiao's words exceeded Mu Zheng's expectations. He couldn't imagine that there was any business so important that required the leader of the Black Clan to come in person to discuss it.

Seeing Mu Zheng casting a doubtful look at her, Qi Yuxiu pursed her lips and said, "Brother Mu, aren't you going to buy a horse? Why not make some money to buy a horse now?"

Mu Zheng secretly thought that this woman was really smart. She saw that his excuse of "milk money" was actually because he was short of money.

Ok.

Anyway, making money was his next goal, and since Qi Xiao gave him an opportunity, he would rather take it.

Thinking of this, Mu Zheng clasped his fists and said, "I wonder what Lord Qi needs. I will do my best to fulfill it."

Qi Xiao smiled and said, "I want you to defeat Lin Nan in the match in two days."

This?

Mu Zheng was stunned. Isn't this the same as Qi Yuxiu's request? Is it worth repeating?

Then Qi Xiao added, "Only if you win this competition will you have a chance to get this deal."

Uh……

Have the opportunity?

There was a lot of mystery behind these three words, but Mu Zheng quickly understood. "So, Lord Qi can't decide on this deal either?"

Hearing this, Qi Xiao nodded.

Mu Zheng groaned inwardly. This Old Deng is a bit ridiculous. You can't even make the decision, so why are you coming to me to argue? He's made such a big promise, and the ultimate goal isn't it just to help me win over Lin Nan.

Who was Qi Xiao? How could he not see through Mu Zheng's thoughts? "There's an old friend on Xiang Island who will visit the Black Tribe in two days. You only need to show your extraordinary strength in front of him, and you'll have a chance to receive a generous reward."

Oh?

Mu Zheng glanced sideways.

Qi Xiao was referring to an old friend on Xiang Island, not an old friend from the Black Tribe. In other words, this old friend was also from the Cloud Tribe.

Secondly, he said that as long as the other party showed extraordinary strength, there would be a chance to get a large reward. The implication was that if he lost, this opportunity might fall into Lin Nan's hands.

Therefore, Qi Xiao wanted to win not for Qi Yuxiu's marriage, but to prevent that opportunity from falling into Lin Nan's hands.

"Could that old friend influence the election for the leader of the Black Clan?" This was the only answer Mu Zheng could think of.

"It can't be said to have a significant impact, but it does have an influence," said Qi Xiao.

Hehe, Mu Zheng suddenly became interested. After all, helping Qi Yuxiu win the position of lord is the most important thing for him, Mu Zheng, at the moment.

"I wonder who that old friend is?"

"Li Zhong, the head of Xinbo."

Mu Zheng uttered an "oh." He had no idea who Xinbo or Li Zhong were. However, judging by the title, it seemed the other party was a government official.

Seeing Mu Zheng's calm expression, Qi Yuxiu added, "Xinbo, formerly Xindu."

ha?

Mu Zheng's eyes widened instantly.

The empire was divided into nine provinces: Ji, Yu, Yong, Yang, Yan, You, Bing, and Qing. Jizhou, later known as Hengshui, Hebei, was called Xindu during the Han Dynasty and was renamed Xinbo during the reign of Wang Mang.

Many great events have taken place here. It is said that Dayu's flood control began in Jizhou. But these are not important now. What is important is that when Liu Xiu was fighting for the world, a very important figure appeared here, namely Xingri Ma Lizhong.

Li Zhong was one of the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai refer to the twenty-eight generals under Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, who helped him unify the country and restore the Han Dynasty.

According to folk legends in later generations, the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai correspond to the Twenty-Eight Constellations in the sky, and are the reincarnations of the Twenty-Eight Constellations in the sky.

Li Zhong corresponds to the "Star and Sun Horse".

In his early years, he served as the commander of Gaomi in the Western Han Dynasty. During the Xinmang Dynasty, he served as the chief of Xinbo (now Xindu). In the first year of the Gengshi period, he served as the commander of Xindu County. Later, he followed Liu Xiu and became the right general. He was granted the titles of Marquis of Wugu and Marquis of Zhongshui.

How could Mu Zheng not be excited when such an important person came to Elephant Island?

You know, Li Zhong worked for Wang Mang for the first half of his life. As for why he switched to Liu Xiu, it is unknown. But now that he knows the direction of history, Mu Zheng must get involved. Maybe his life of wealth and glory will start from him.

"Why did Lord Li come to Xiangdao? Donglai and Xindu are thousands of miles apart." Mu Zheng asked in order to confirm the other party's identity.

"Brother Mu doesn't know about this. Lord Li Zhong is from Huang County in Donglai." Qi Xiao said.

That's it!

"Then why can Lord Li Zhong influence the selection of the leader of the Black Clan?" Mu Zheng asked again.

"Because he holds the purchasing rights for warhorses," Qi Xiao explained. Li Zhong comes to Elephant Island every year to purchase warhorses, sometimes from the Cloud Clan, sometimes from the Black Clan. Winning his order would naturally increase his chances of winning the lordship election.

Mu Zheng deeply agreed with this. It was normal for interests to determine one's position.

"But, what does this have to do with that competition?" Mu Zheng didn't quite understand. In Li Zhong's eyes, both Mu Zheng and Lin Nan represented the Black Clan, so whoever won would not affect his choice between the Yun and Hei Clan.

"That's because Li Zhong has a son named Li Lian. He has been targeted by a group of people recently and has been assassinated many times. He needs a personal bodyguard." Qi Xiao said.

Now Mu Zheng finally understood. Whoever became Li Lian's bodyguard would receive support from the Li family, and Qi Xiao absolutely did not want to see Lin Nan get this opportunity.

"Don't worry, Lord Qi, I will definitely defeat Lin Nan." If Mu Zheng was fighting for Qi Yuxiu before, now he is fighting for himself.

One of the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai?

Must win!

……

Over the next two days, Mu Zheng frequently sought information from Qi Yuxiu about Lin Nan's various circumstances, including his martial arts techniques. Meanwhile, Zheng Chao and Liu Yu roamed among the various horse farm owners, clamoring to become friends with them.

Gong Wen always accompanies Qian'er whenever he has time. Their relationship grows stronger day by day, and they even care about each other day and night.

Tomorrow is the day Li Zhong will land on the island, and the entire Elephant Island will look brand new.

Mu Zheng and his companions had just come out of the house of a horse farm owner when they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind them.

That was the housekeeper of the villa. When he saw Gong Wen, he hurriedly said, "Brother Gong, I finally found you."

When everyone heard this, they immediately had a bad feeling.

"What's wrong?" Gong Wen asked.

The housekeeper of the villa had a sad face: "Qian'er is gone. She was raped and then strangled to death."

ha?

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, shaking the four brothers' hands and feet cold. Gong Wen's legs and feet were so weak that he took two steps back, only stopping when he was against the wall.

Qian'er is dead!

When we returned to the villa, Qian'er was already covered with a white cloth.

Gong Wen took a look and then started yelling like a madman. Qian'er was naked, covered in bruises, her lower body was a mess, and her beautiful eyes were wide open.

Mu Zheng didn't expect Qian'er to be tortured and killed in the most humiliating and cruel way.

He looked at the villa's housekeeper coldly, "Who is it?"

The housekeeper swallowed his saliva and said hesitantly, "Jiang, Jiang Xiaobai."

It's him?

There was endless anger in Mu Zheng's whisper.

How could Jiang Xiaobai possibly enter the villa? Besides, how could he be so bold as to commit such a crime?

Who else would kill Qian'er?

Besides Teng Qin, there is Lin Nan.

They were confusing his mind and trying to disrupt his state of mind for the next day's competition!

These two beasts deserve to die!