The Villain's Counterattack

When the hand-washing ceremony was about to begin, a team of soldiers and officers suddenly arrived to deliver imperial edicts, and then Liu Zhengfeng inexplicably became a lieutenant general. Many people in the martial arts world did not understand the officialdom, and were not very clear about how powerful this lieutenant general was. When they heard that he was a military officer, they naturally looked down on him.

"Tsk tsk, what a magnanimous act Liu Zhengfeng has! He's dedicated to public service, dedicated to his hometown, skilled in archery and horsemanship, and a talent worthy of great use. A mere commoner, yet he's instantly become a third-rank lieutenant general?" Lin Pingzhi said sourly, "This young master led a vast army across the East China Sea, slaughtered tens of thousands of Japanese pirates, and even invaded the Japanese islands to promote our nation's prestige. In the end, he nearly destroyed his own foundation, and in the end, he's only a fifth-rank military officer. Hehe, Liu Zhengfeng, Lieutenant General Liu, has suddenly jumped over my head."

Yue Buqun's eyes flashed when he heard this, and he immediately felt that something seemed amiss. Because of the "Bixie Sword Manual", he paid considerable attention to the Fuwei Escort Agency. Lin Pingzhi put in so much effort and even donated millions of wealth to the emperor, but in the end he was only a fifth-rank official. How could Liu Zhengfeng become a third-rank lieutenant general?

Moreover, just by looking at the team announcing the imperial edict, one can tell that this "lieutenant general" does not seem to be taken seriously. Is the reading of the "imperial edict" so careless?

A third-rank official is already considered a high-ranking official, and is no simple matter in terms of civil or military affairs. There seem to be many strange things about this. Ordinary people may not know, but well-informed people and scholars should know something about the official status and rank. If it weren't for Lin Pingzhi's reminder, Yue Buqun almost overlooked it.

Yue Buqun felt even more suspicious just by looking at the greedy look on the face of the person who read out the imperial edict. Even if an official was greedy, he wouldn't be so unbearable, right? This person was deceitful!

I just don’t know whether Liu Zhengfeng was being cunning or was being cheated by someone.

Liu Zhengfeng is also a well-read person, so he must be aware of the seriousness of falsely conveying the imperial edict. Then, this person is most likely sent by someone else to deliberately fool Liu Zhengfeng. Liu Zhengfeng himself has no idea whether it is true or not, or he knows it is false but deliberately treats it as true?

Smart people tend to think too much. When Yue Buqun was daydreaming, something unexpected happened again at the hand-washing conference. Shi Dengda, a thousand-foot-tall master of Songshan Sect, brought the flag of the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect to stop Liu Zhengfeng's hand-washing conference. The five-colored brocade flag was decorated with pearls and gems, and it emitted brilliant light when it was unfurled, which showed that the Five Mountains Sword Sect was also not short of money.

Shi Dengda, a thousand-foot-long pine tree, saluted the elders of the Five Mountains Sword Sect. Suddenly, he saw a young man beside Yue Buqun, smiling at him. He took a closer look and was startled. How could this bastard be here? Six years ago, he had faced the thirteen-year-old Lin Pingzhi and was beaten rather badly.

"Long time no see, that Shi, Shi what, oh, right, Shi Yituo. Back then in Songshan Sect, among so many people of my age, you were the only one who could fight on par with me. I was quite impressed by you." Lin Pingzhi's words almost made Qianzhangsong Shi Dengda's nose crooked with anger.

I am not the same age as you, and my name is not Shi Yituo. Qianzhangsong Shi Dengda took a deep breath and said to himself, "I'm not angry. Just pretend that I didn't see him or hear him speak. This bastard's ability to make people angry is absolutely top-notch."

While Shi Dengda of Qianzhangsong was arguing with Liu Zhengfeng and the others, a fight suddenly broke out in the backyard. Liu Zhengfeng's face changed slightly, and he casually called over his junior fellow apprentice Fang Qianju, "Brother Fang, go and see what's going on in the backyard. Today is my big day, and if there are any scoundrels causing trouble, I will just send them off."

Qianzhangsong Shi Dengda was shocked when he heard this. How could there be someone in the backyard of the Liu Mansion who could stop Junior Brother Wan? He and his companions could probably fight against people of the same generation, but they were far inferior to the masters of the previous generation.

"Uncle Fang, please wait..."

"Don't worry, nephew Shi. The backyard of our house is a private place. A gentleman would not be so despicable. It must be some shameless thieves who want to take advantage of the situation and sneak into the house to do some sneaky things." Liu Zhengfeng stopped Shi Dengda casually, but the noise from the backyard was getting louder and louder, and there seemed to be screams.

A moment later, Fang Qianju came out with a strange look on his face, leading the Hengshan disciples and escorting a dozen yellow-shirted men. However, these people did not look very good, with bruised faces and wounds all over their bodies, and two of them even had broken limbs, which made Shi Dengda's face change drastically.

Liu Zhengfeng's face turned ashen. "Brother Fang, send these thieves who broke into my backyard with the intent to commit evil to the authorities. Although I, Liu Zhengfeng, am not talented, I am a lieutenant general appointed by the emperor himself. Although I haven't taken office, my title is still there. Yet, thieves broke into my home. If I don't hold them accountable, how can I continue to serve as an official in the future?"

This isn't right. Shouldn't it be Junior Brother Wan who's holding the Liu family hostage? How did it become the Hengshan Sect catching the thief?

"Uncle Master, please wait. Is there any misunderstanding here?" Shi Dengda hurriedly stopped him. If he was really sent to the authorities, even if the money was recovered later, his reputation would be completely ruined.

Lin Pingzhi said quietly, "It's hard to explain why a dozen grown men quietly sneaked into the backyard of the Liu Mansion. Since Sir Liu is going to be an official, his reputation is very important. These people really can't be sent to the government."

Shi Dengda nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, but unexpectedly, Lin Pingzhi added, "Although we can't send him to the authorities, we can't keep him here either. Let's find a place to bury him. We're all friends here, so I'm sure they won't spread such a shameful story."

Everyone gradually realized that the Songshan Sect was about to cause trouble. First, they stopped Liu Zhengfeng from retiring, and then, while stalling for time, they secretly sent disciples to infiltrate his backyard with the intention of committing a crime. Lin Pingzhi continued, "Mr. Liu, you'd better go see if the white jade and glazed Thousand-Li Horse I gave you is still there. You should know that thing is worth a fortune and is much more valuable than these three treasures combined. If it weren't for your Hengshan Sect saving the Hengyang City Fuwei Escort Agency branch, I would not have been willing to give it away."

Liu Zhengfeng's mouth twitched slightly. You gave me the ghost's white jade glazed Thousand-Li Horse before, but this excuse is good. It would be better if we make a big fuss now. "Brother Fang, go to the government office and invite the officials."

Everything was as Lin Pingzhi had anticipated. Although he hadn't made a move, he had vaguely provided him with an idea. Life and death were commonplace in the Jianghu, but once an official was present, they dared not act recklessly. As soon as Liu Zhengfeng finished speaking, a cold laugh rang out: "Liu Zhengfeng, you have such great authority."

"Disciples of the Songshan Sect, please all come forward!" This time, without Liu Zhengfeng's invitation, Fei Bin took the initiative to jump out. On the rooftop, outside the gate, in the corner of the hall, in the backyard, around, around, dozens of people responded in unison: "Yes, disciples of the Songshan Sect greet Uncle Liu."

Dozens of voices shouted simultaneously, their voices so loud and unexpected that they startled the crowd. On the roof stood a dozen or so people, all dressed in yellow. In the hall, however, everyone was dressed in a variety of styles. They had clearly infiltrated the hall long ago, secretly monitoring Liu Zhengfeng, unnoticed by anyone among the thousand or so people.

"Good, good, what a great Songshan Sect!" Liu Zhengfeng was so angry that his whole body was shaking, but it was unknown how much anger and how much fear he felt.

"No match for you, Liu Zhengfeng." Fei Bin said to Shi Dengda, "Raise the flag."

Stenda said: "Yes!" He raised his command flag and stood next to Fei Bin.

Fei Bin said grimly, "Senior Brother Liu, Alliance Leader Zuo has ordered us to investigate with you: What secret collusion is there between Senior Brother Liu and the Demon Cult leader, Dongfang Bubai? What plot have they hatched to deal with our Five Mountains Sword Sect and all the upright fellows in the martial arts world?"

There was an uproar all around. Liu Zhengfeng's heart turned cold as he said in a deep voice, "In my entire life, I have never seen the side of the Demon Cult leader, Dongfang Bubai. How can you talk about collusion and conspiracy?"

Just at this moment, two figures fell from the sky. They were Ding Mian and Lu Bai. Ding Mian and Lu Bai were both very famous in the martial arts world. The heroes stood up to greet them.

Lu Bai said softly, "Senior Brother Liu, I'm afraid that's not entirely true. There's a guardian elder in the Demon Sect named Zuo Quyang. I wonder if Senior Brother Liu knows him?"

Finally, he arrived. Liu Zhengfeng looked at Lin Pingzhi, only to find that he was looking at him with a smile. It seemed that the words about the whole family being wiped out and Qu Yang being buried alive were still echoing in his ears. Brother Qu should be nearby now.

After all the planning, I still couldn't escape this dangerous situation.