Feng Mingyu and Huang Qian in the back hadn’t anticipated this turn of events. However, Xiao Dingfei’s status was after all different from theirs—he genuinely came from the Jinling main headquarters. Anyone who was anyone had to address him as “Master Dingfei.” Firstly, they couldn’t afford to slight him; secondly, they couldn’t scold him. They could only cough behind him in a perfunctory manner as a hint, suggesting that Xiao Dingfei not be too frivolous.
How could Xiao Dingfei possibly pay attention to them?
Even in front of the Doctrine Leader and Master Gongyi, he didn’t restrain himself. At this moment, without even turning his head, he waved his hand as if shooing away flies: “I know, I know. Just asking—what’s the big deal?”
Everyone present immediately exchanged glances, dumbstruck.
Zhang Zhe’s brows had already furrowed.
Seeing this “old friend,” Jiang Xuening couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her mouth. Instinctively, she wanted to adopt the bearing she’d used to deal with this person in her previous life. However, from the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Zhang Zhe standing beside her. For some reason, she immediately didn’t dare act rashly. She only glanced at Xiao Dingfei once and didn’t even respond with half a sentence.
This appearance, falling into Xiao Dingfei’s eyes, naturally took on a different kind of meaning.
Thus his gaze easily returned to Zhang Zhe.
Zhang Zhe’s furrowed brows didn’t relax. In his heart, he already disliked this Xiao Dingfei. Moreover, he knew that in the previous life, this person had been close with Jiang Xuening. Somehow, this added another layer of prejudice. His eyes held quite a bit of coldness as he said: “My younger sister inadvertently became involved in this matter. I ask Master Dingfei not to speak recklessly.”
Younger sister?
Xiao Dingfei didn’t believe it. He sneered inwardly: Biological younger sister? More like sweetheart sister, right?
He said “Oh,” half-truthfully: “So that’s how it is.”
Everyone was stunned, not knowing whether they believed Zhang Zhe’s words or not.
Jiang Xuening, however, was frozen.
Upon hearing the words “younger sister,” she felt a strange sense of loss. But thinking it over: now that she’d accidentally become involved in this matter and had no choice but to come and go with Zhang Zhe, if they weren’t siblings, could he say they were “husband and wife”?
Zhang Zhe was an upright gentleman—how could he be willing to take advantage of someone in this matter?
So in just a moment, she collected herself and erased that strange feeling of loss.
She looked toward Zhang Zhe.
But Zhang Zhe had lowered his eyelids.
Xiao Dingfei wore that kind of superficial smile on his face and asked again: “Are you then Master Gongyi the Recluse?”
This time Zhang Zhe said: “If you see me as such, then I am.”
Xiao Dingfei raised his brows: “Then if I see you as not, you’re not, is that it?”
Using Master Gongyi as bait to lure the Heavenly Doctrine into the trap, then borrowing the court’s own power, falsely claiming to be the Heavenly Doctrine’s most mysterious Master Gongyi the Recluse, and taking advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the Heavenly Doctrine—this was a strategy Xie Wei had proposed at court.
This strategy had one foundation.
That was some secret Heavenly Doctrine reports and internal connections searched from Master Gongyi. With Master Gongyi’s status, he naturally knew many secrets, which was why they dared to use this to impersonate the Master Gongyi the Recluse who shared the same name.
But not a single word about Xiao Dingfei was mentioned in any of this.
If Zhang Zhe were still the Zhang Zhe of the past, at this moment facing a Master Dingfei whose background he completely didn’t know, even if his face showed nothing, his mind would have long been in chaos. However, the memories of the previous life were ultimately not false.
He dared to accept this task because, besides what was found on Master Gongyi, he naturally also had some of his own advantages.
For example, when Xiao Dingfei first returned to the capital in the previous life, he’d caused the Xiao family quite a bit of trouble. Some of it was truly messy enough to count as scandalous—this time it came in handy.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Zhang Zhe’s face. Seeing him remain silent for a moment, those who had just arrived from the Heavenly Doctrine even became wary, faintly blocking off escape routes in other directions.
Jiang Xuening’s heart tightened in warning as she held her breath in anticipation.
Zhang Zhe finally spoke calmly: “Master Dingfei has always been unrestrained. The debts at gambling dens in all directions still haven’t been repaid. A courtesan from Nineteenth Floor died for love of you with devoted passion. Though you wear a treasured sword at your waist, you can’t last ten moves against a martial artist. Zhang also wants to ask—how did you get mixed up in this muddy water, young master?”
Xiao Dingfei’s complexion instantly changed. The phrase “how do you know” almost instinctively slipped out. Just as the words reached his lips, he was secretly alarmed. With a curl of his tongue, he quickly swallowed the words back, only staring at Zhang Zhe. His eyes turned slightly cold, extremely grave.
Each of these matters was true.
But the time they occurred spanned several years. Even those close to him might not remember them. Yet now from this person’s mouth, each one was crystal clear—it truly sent chills down one’s spine!
Moreover—
The other party was also asking how he got mixed up in this muddy water.
When he first heard Huang Qian say this person’s identity was unusual and might be the Doctrine’s “Master Gongyi the Recluse,” he had only found it amusing, thinking darkly that the court truly had no brains—did they really think there wasn’t a single person in the Heavenly Doctrine who knew who Gongyi was?
So upon seeing Zhang Zhe, he’d wanted to expose him.
However, the result of this exchange greatly exceeded his expectations, forcing his nimble mind to instantly think of another possibility: That’s right—since this person held office at court, he must be acquainted with that person. With that person present, how could he allow others to impersonate him? And the Heavenly Doctrine side still hadn’t received the slightest hint!
Just thinking this, Xiao Dingfei’s spine broke out in cold chills.
However, Feng Mingyu, Huang Qian, and others heard this with complete confusion, not quite understanding: “We’ve long been at the branch headquarters. Even if fortunate enough to go to the main headquarters to meet the Doctrine Leader, we often only see Master Gongyi. Master Gongyi the Recluse, however, we’ve never had the fortune to meet. We’ve long heard the great name but never seen the person. Master Dingfei has long been at the main headquarters—you should have seen him, so…”
Xiao Dingfei said without thinking: “So what?”
Huang Qian was immediately stunned.
Xiao Dingfei furrowed his brows as if he found the other party very unreasonable, and said quite rudely: “What about me being long at the main headquarters? Just because I’m long at the main headquarters means I should have seen Master Gongyi the Recluse? A figure like an immortal—is that someone the likes of you or I can meet?”
Damn it, if these two idiots really met him, they’d piss their pants in fright!
He couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
Feng Mingyu and Huang Qian didn’t yet know they’d already been classified as “idiots” in the mind of this “Master Dingfei” from the main headquarters. Hearing his words, they still couldn’t quite process it: “Your meaning is…”
Xiao Dingfei said without hesitation: “Never seen him!”
Just hearing what that dead-faced Zhang fellow said earlier, he felt this muddy water was probably that person’s handiwork. In his heart, he firstly cursed the wretched old man for not dying yet, secondly cursed the one surnamed Xie for being ruthless and inhuman. But he absolutely didn’t dare expose Zhang Zhe as an imposter, fearing that if he ruined that person’s affairs, he’d be unable to bear the consequences.
As for the Heavenly Doctrine?
Bullshit Heavenly Doctrine—what did it have to do with him!
This categorical denial came as a complete surprise to both Feng Mingyu and Huang Qian.
Zhang Zhe, however, sensed there was something suspicious about it.
Based on her understanding of Xiao Dingfei from her previous life, Jiang Xuening felt that in those few moments, this person’s mind had already gone through countless twists and turns. Those three words “never seen him” were probably false!
After Xiao Dingfei finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves, intending not to deal with this matter.
One must know, last time after he came out of the pleasure house, he left word to trick those looking for him into chasing to the wine shop, while he actually returned to the capital branch headquarters.
As a result, right at the door, he heard people say Master Gongyi had gone to that person’s residence.
He was so frightened his soul nearly left his body. He shrank his neck—where would he dare stay in the capital any longer? He oiled the soles of his feet and ran like the wind. Only after reaching Tongzhou did he receive a secret letter from the main headquarters, asking him to cooperate with everyone to break into the prison and rescue Master Gongyi who’d been captured by the court.
What a joke!
Rescue Master Gongyi?
Having gone to that person’s residence, could Master Gongyi, that old turtle, still be captured by the court? The court might not want to kill Master Gongyi, but that person would definitely be the first to finish him off, ensuring he couldn’t open his mouth to speak.
There was definitely a trap here.
Only the Doctrine Leader’s order from the main headquarters couldn’t be refused. He really couldn’t decline. Faking illness wouldn’t work either. Thinking that he wouldn’t actually need to break into the prison, just provide support, and it probably wouldn’t cost him his little life, he finally steeled himself to come.
However, as his gaze casually swept through the crowd, he suddenly caught sight of a not-very-tall, not-very-sturdy figure in the corner with a single tuft of hair standing straight up.
That child was also looking at him.
Xiao Dingfei recognized him and broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately felt deeply grateful that he hadn’t been confused enough just now to say something like “I’ve seen Master Gongyi the Recluse.” Otherwise, that person would settle both new and old accounts with him together, and he’d probably die without even a burial place!
At this moment, however, the bystanders thought they understood: Probably this Master Gongyi the Recluse of the Heavenly Doctrine was extremely mysterious—even people within their Doctrine didn’t dare rashly confirm his identity. And though this Lord Zhang’s answer to them was ambiguous, he possessed supernatural abilities and considerable skill, able to directly have the city gates opened to let them out. So even if he wasn’t Master Gongyi the Recluse himself, he must definitely have a close relationship with him.
Others guessed this way, and Feng Mingyu and Huang Qian were no exception.
Moreover, they thought even deeper. Master Dingfei was in the Doctrine merely a superficially glamorous figure, but inside was actually like a copper pea that couldn’t be steamed soft, boiled tender, hammered flat, fried to burst, or made to crack! For someone to know all these messy affairs about him, they must definitely be from within the Doctrine. Thinking more carefully about that phrase “if you see me as such, then I am,” it was a hint at his relationship with Master Gongyi the Recluse—undoubtedly someone sent on orders. What he said was what Master Gongyi the Recluse said.
They truly hadn’t considered this might be a trap.
After all, this person had displayed his abilities before them—leaving the imperial prison, passing through the city gates—he’d exerted great effort in all of this. Though the Heavenly Doctrine had been rampant in the past, the court had only ever sent troops to suppress them, never reaching the point of complete extermination. Some local officials even hoped they’d cause trouble so they could report to the court and obtain bandit-suppression funds. Suddenly, how could they risk letting criminals and rebels escape to set up such a grand scheme?
So very quickly, everyone’s attitude toward Zhang Zhe was settled. Thinking it over, calling him “Lord Zhang” here seemed somewhat strange, and calling him “young master” seemed disrespectful. They simply adopted the form of address for the Doctrine’s strategists, uniformly calling him “Master Zhang.”
Huang Qian implicitly asked in words whether he was working for Master Gongyi the Recluse.
Zhang Zhe didn’t deny it, and said: “The Master has recently been living in seclusion beyond worldly affairs, not involving himself in mundane matters. Lately he’s rarely gone out.”
These words falling on everyone’s ears undoubtedly sketched out the portrait of an otherworldly expert. They said this Master Gongyi the Recluse lived in hermitage beyond civilization, was too lazy to deal with worldly affairs, which was why he’d sent Zhang Zhe to handle matters.
Jiang Xuening finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Dingfei on the side, listening to this, from an angle others couldn’t see, nearly rolled his eyes up to the sky!