Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

In Jia Renyi's woodshed, the air was thick with the stench of mold and decaying hay. The only light came from a few faint rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the worn door, illuminating the tiny particles of dust dancing in the air. Zhang Jingwei held a large, chipped earthenware bowl filled with steaming, golden-yellow egg-drop noodles. He squatted unrestrainedly in front of Shen Kaiyang, who was tied up and leaning against a pile of firewood, slurping his food with hearty gulps, enjoying it with such a gusto that he felt as if he were in a refined room rather than a prison.

The rich aroma of eggs and flour permeated the confined space with impunity. Shen Kaiyang's Adam's apple rolled violently up and down, and he pursed his cracked lips, forcing himself to suppress the rumbling of hunger in his stomach. He raised his eyes, a complicated gaze fixed on the young man wolfing down his food. His voice was hoarse and filled with a hint of disbelief, "I didn't expect... Zhang Jingwei's life could be so tough." The icy river water, the deadly struggle, hadn't even taken his life.

Zhang Jingwei put down his chopsticks, picked up a large piece of noodles wrapped in egg drop soup and stuffed it into his mouth. While chewing, he replied vaguely, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife: "Ahem... I should be the one saying this to you. Master Shen, you are a good swimmer." He recalled the thrilling fight in the water. The opponent's underwater skills were indeed amazing.

A sarcastic arc appeared at the corner of Shen Kaiyang's mouth: "Master Zhang, you are too kind. Among the landlubbers in the north, you are unique in your ability to swim." This was half teasing and half fact.

Zhang Jingwei swallowed the food in his mouth, pointed at the few noodles and soup left in the bowl with chopsticks, and suddenly asked, "Are you hungry?" His tone was flat and no emotion could be heard.

Shen Kaiyang was stunned for a moment, then a faint glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. He licked his cracked lips and said, "It's rare that Lord Zhang still has this 'mercy' to grant me a beheading breakfast?"

Zhang Jingwei sneered and shoveled the last bit of noodles into his mouth: "Tsk, you think too much. I didn't say I would give it to you." He picked up the bowl, took a big sip of the rich noodle soup, and sighed with satisfaction.

The expression on Shen Kaiyang's face froze instantly, and then a wave of anger at being teased surged up: "Then you ask me if I'm hungry?!"

"I'm just asking." Zhang Jingwei put down the empty bowl and casually wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. There was a hint of malicious amusement in his eyes, as if he was observing the reaction of a caged animal. "Why, no?"

"Hahaha..." Shen Kaiyang stared at him for a few seconds, and suddenly burst into a low and weird laugh, with a kind of understanding as if he saw through him, "Sure enough... you, Zhang Jingwei, are definitely not an ordinary person, nor are you an ordinary person who follows the rules!" There was a crazy light in his eyes that was almost admiring.

"Slurp—" Zhang Jingwei raised his head and drank the last bit of noodle soup at the bottom of the bowl with a loud slurp. He casually placed the empty bowl on the firewood beside him, stood up, and looked down at the embarrassed Shen Kaiyang. Suddenly, he grinned, revealing his white teeth:

"I am your father!"

"Vulgar!" Shen Kaiyang was so angry at the sudden insult that his face turned pale and he shouted angrily. As the guardian of the Jiujun Sect, he had never been subjected to such insults from a street thug.

"Vulgar?" The smile on Zhang Jingwei's face disappeared in an instant, and his eyes were as cold as ice. "Compared to those monsters in your Jiujun Sect who are wearing human skin and practicing devilish tricks, I am being polite! You bastards who have fathers but no mothers are worthy of calling yourselves Taoists? You pretend to be gods, deceive people's minds, and bring chaos to the countryside! I will submit a memorial to the court and uproot your shitty Jiujun Sect and kill them all! Not a single one will be spared!" His voice was not loud, but every word was like a knife, carrying deep hatred and cold determination.

"Zhang Jingwei!" Shen Kaiyang struggled violently, the ropes cutting deeply into his flesh. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared, "Even if you want to chop me into pieces today and grind my bones to dust, I will never allow you to insult my sect! My Nine Lords' Dao is profound and profound, how can a mortal like you be so presumptuous as to judge it!"

"Cut into pieces? Well, this way of death suits you. It's not bad." Zhang Jingwei touched his chin, as if he was seriously considering this proposal, but there was no warmth in his eyes. "As for your demon cult... Shen Kaiyang, listen to me carefully, as long as I, Zhang Jingwei, am still alive, your Jiujun Sect will never have a good day! I will make you like rats in the gutter, never seeing the light of day!" His words were firm and decisive, with an unquestionable sense of judgment.

Shen Kaiyang panted, trying to counterattack with his teachings: "Humph! A frog in a well! My Nine Lords' Way is profound and unfathomable. One day, everyone in the world will wake up and comprehend the supreme mystery! Then, you fools will bow down and submit!"

"Tao?" Zhang Jingwei seemed to have heard a huge joke. He leaned forward slightly, approached Shen Kaiyang, and spoke with a mocking voice that seemed to see through everything, "You keep talking about 'Tao' all day long, pretending to be mysterious. How can you truly understand the great wisdom that has been passed down through the ages, 'The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name'? What you call 'Tao' is nothing but a fig leaf to deceive people's minds and satisfy your selfish desires!" He was quoting the opening of the Taoist classic "Tao Te Ching".

Shen Kaiyang froze, the fervent confidence on his face instantly frozen, replaced by a profound sense of bewilderment and confusion. He subconsciously muttered, "The Tao that can be spoken... is not the eternal Tao? The name that can be named... is not the eternal name?" These two sentences seemed to contain a vast and profound conception he had never encountered before, completely different from the Nine Lords' teachings he knew, and even a faint sense of oppression. He eagerly asked, "You... what did you just say? Where did you get it from?"

Zhang Jingwei straightened up and glanced at him with contempt: "Figure it out yourself. You're not a three-year-old child. Do you need someone to teach you how to read?" He was about to say something else when the door of the woodshed was suddenly pushed open. Jia Dayong's burly figure rushed in with a gust of wind, his face full of anxiety:

"Young Master! It's bad! The boy on guard at the village entrance came back with the news. He said a group of people dressed as Taoist priests have arrived, along with many armored soldiers riding tall horses! They're almost at the village entrance! They look very aggressive!"

Shen Kaiyang was stunned at first, then his face broke out into ecstasy and twisted pride, he laughed out loud: "Hahaha! Zhang Jingwei! It's God's will! You have schemed everything, but you didn't know that the water defense camp is full of my Nine Lords' devout apostles! You can't escape today! Hahaha!" The laughter echoed in the small woodshed, full of the pleasure of revenge.

Zhang Jingwei's face instantly darkened, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes. Without hesitation, he immediately ordered Jia Dayong, "Dayong! Leave him alone! Go get a carriage! Quick! We're going through the back mountain!" At this moment, escaping was the top priority.

Jia Dayong looked embarrassed, rubbing his hands. His honest face was full of embarrassment. "Young... Young Master, there are no horse-drawn carriages in the village... in the village! Will an oxcart... an oxcart work? The old yellow ox of the Muramasa family is very strong!"

Zhang Jingwei looked at him, then at Shen Kaiyang, who was laughing wildly on the ground. He was so angry that he almost laughed. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. He reached out and pinched Jia Dayong's rough and dark face hard. "Haha! You... You... It's your first day to 'work' with me. I really don't want to scold you..." His tone was full of anger and laughter, and a hint of helplessness.

"Oh oh oh! I get it! I'll go get the trailer right away." Jia Dayong woke up as if from a dream, turned around and rushed out like a bull.

……

Not long after.

The atmosphere on the not-so-wide official road at the entrance of Jia Village was tense.

A group of about two hundred men blocked the village entrance. The ranks were clearly divided: at the front were dozens of Taoists in gray or blue robes, followed by cavalrymen, all wearing simple leather armor, carrying long swords at their waists, and riding sturdy warhorses. At the front, a ferocious-looking officer, dressed in the uniform of a junior officer, glared angrily at the group blocking the road.

Blocking the road were none other than Jia Renyi and a group of villagers from Jia Village. They'd dragged seven or eight shabby square tables from who knows where, even piecing together a few benches, and set them up majestically in the middle of the official road! The tables were empty, but the atmosphere was perfectly composed, as if they were preparing for a grand buffet. The villagers sat, stood, or squatted by the roadside, smoking their pipes, their dejected demeanor akin to those of a man who'd made this road his own.

The officer's face turned blue with rage. He pointed at Jia Renyi's nose and cursed, "You daring villains! How dare you hold a banquet on the official road? What's your crime for obstructing the passage of the government troops? Get out of the way!"

Jia Renyi hunched his back, his face full of panic and innocent smile, and he bowed repeatedly: "Oh my! General, please calm down! General, please calm down! I really have no other choice! Look, there are too many relatives in the village, and the few broken tables at home are not enough to hold a wedding! I have to... I have to borrow this place on the official road. When the banquet is over, I will close it immediately! Close it immediately!" As he spoke, he pointed to the empty village behind him where even a dog could not be seen. This excuse was so poor that it was appalling.

"Bullshit!" The officer was so angry that he almost jumped up, spit flying everywhere, "Do you think I'm blind? There are hardly any people in your shabby village! They are all piled up at the village entrance, blocking the road! You have delayed our important task of catching the evildoers and hunting down the criminals. You can't afford the responsibility even with ten heads!" He put his hand on the hilt of the knife, and the threat was evident in his words.

Jia Renyi shuddered with fear, and bent his waist even lower, but his tone was still "aggrieved": "Oh my! What you said, general, really embarrasses me! What are you talking about responsibility or not... How dare we ordinary people! It's really... It's really that the county magistrate, Mr. Zhang, sympathizes with the people. He personally approved the document and allowed us to hold a banquet here to celebrate today! Look, this is written in black and white..." He pretended to grope around on his body, but naturally he couldn't take anything out.

The officer was so choked by his scoundrel behavior that he was speechless, his face turning the color of liver. He turned his horse helplessly and ran to the middle of the team to report to a middle-aged general wearing fine scale armor, with a resolute face, riding a majestic black horse, and a young man wearing a brocade robe and waving a folding fan:

"General Qi, Mr. Gao, look... these unruly people are such scoundrels! They're so stubborn and won't let us pass! Forcing our way in might hurt innocent people and give us something to talk about..."

The officer known as General Qi frowned and looked at Gao Jiong, who stood beside him with a calm demeanor. "Boss, these... unruly people are blocking the road and won't respond to any persuasion or threats. What should we do? Take a detour? But the path in this forest is rugged and difficult to navigate. What if those evildoers escape in the chaos, or disturb Master Zhang..."

Gao Ying snapped his folding fan shut with a swish, tapping it lightly on his palm. Far from looking angry, his face revealed a knowing, slightly appreciative smile. "Haha, that's all right. Let them spread out their food, let them eat. Once they've had their fill and taken a good nap, we can still catch up."

"Huh?" General Qi was stunned, thinking he had misheard. "Boss, what do you mean? The military situation is urgent, how can we waste time here?" The cavalrymen under his command were also a little agitated.

Gao Jiong used his folding fan to point at the seemingly unhurried but in fact alert villagers, then pointed to the dusty official road at the village entrance. He slowly analyzed, "General Qi, please be patient. This time, you followed orders and led only two hundred elite light cavalry. In a single day, you swept through every village in Gaoyang. Not only did you eliminate many demon strongholds, but you also captured dozens of bandit leaders. Such rapidity was achieved thanks to your well-trained steeds, which can travel hundreds of miles a day, correct?"

General Qi was confused, but nodded. "That's right! All of our horses are excellent, hand-picked from a hundred miles away. They have excellent endurance and speed."

"Come on!" Gao Jiong clapped his folding fan on his palms. "How could such a majestic and fast horse not be able to catch up with a... slow-moving old ox pulling a broken cart?"

"Ox cart?!" General Qi reacted suddenly, his eyes flashing, "The chief manager means... Lord Zhang... was riding in an ox cart? How did you know?" He was shocked. This Mr. Gao seemed to be able to predict the future.

Gao Jiong smiled slightly, with a glint of insight in his eyes: "First, although Jiacun is nominally a large village with thousands of households, it has been subjected to heavy taxes and plunder by the former county magistrate Han Ye in recent years. It has long been sparsely populated, with nine out of ten houses deserted and the village is in dire straits. In such a poor village, how many families can afford to raise horses that require fine feed and consume huge amounts of money? Oxen are the foundation of their farming and pulling goods. Secondly," he pointed his folding fan at the ground, "General, please look at the official road we have been traveling on. Have you seen any traces of fresh horse manure? On the contrary, the prints of oxen's hooves and ox carts are clearly visible on this dusty road." His analysis was meticulous and convincing.

General Qi suddenly understood and looked at Gao Jiong with admiration: "I see! The chief steward is very perceptive and thoughtful. I admire you! I'm grateful for your advice!" He paused, then thought of something else. "However, chief steward, since we're going to rescue my son-in-law, why don't we tell these villagers clearly? If they know we're going to rescue Lord Zhang, they'll definitely get out of the way!"

Gao Jiong shook his head slightly, his gaze darting deep into the village, as if he could penetrate those simple mud houses and see the figure nervously preparing to flee. "They won't believe it. Or rather, the man who's controlling the situation and causing them to block the road won't believe it. He's like a severely wounded, frightened bird. Any slightest disturbance will send him flying without hesitation, hiding in a deeper corner. Any explanation pales in the face of fear and suspicion. If you don't believe me, General, you can give it a try."

General Qi was skeptical, but he signaled the officer to try again. He rode forward, loudly announcing they were coming to assist County Magistrate Zhang, and urged the villagers to clear the way. However, all he received were even more wary and cautious looks from the villagers, and Jia Renyi's exaggerated smiles and excuses. He showed no sign of moving the "banquet" beneath his feet.

General Qi sighed helplessly and looked at Gao Jiong with a look of complete admiration. He waved his hand.

"Dang-dang-dang-!"

The flag bearer immediately struck the gong, and the resounding sound echoed through the cavalry:

"The general has ordered—all troops—to rest on the spot—!"

At the command, the well-trained cavalrymen dismounted, removed some of their equipment, fed their horses water and feed, and sat down in groups of three or four on both sides of the road to rest. For a moment, on the official road at the village entrance, the armored soldiers and the villagers with empty tables and benches stared at each other, forming an extremely strange and tense scene.

The wind blew through the treetops, raising bursts of rustling sounds, as well as the heavy breathing of the old ox and the anxious creaking sound of the wooden axle of the ox cart turning, which could be heard faintly from the distant village.