It was because he was prudent that Diwu Qing Rou gave him this important assignment. Because their operation in Iron Cloud was in chaos, and Cheng Yun He was the most careful person capable of sorting out the root of this thing. Moreover, with his ability to remain objective toward enemies or friends, he was the best choice.
This person’s strength was being able tolerate things that others could not. Even if he was standing in front of the worst situation, he could calmly find an escape. While the most optimal solution might not be found, he would be able to find one the minimize loss.
Being angry as he was today, this was the first time in Cheng Yun He’s life.
“How did it become such a mess?” Yin Wu Fa was unable to accept it.
“The prime minister said that you were hoodwinked, and framed by the enemies!” Cheng Yun He sighed but immediately recovered his emotion and said, “If the enemies managed to fool you once, why not twice? Whether King of Hell Chu is a King level master or not is yet to be decided! This is the first issue!”
“Second, one of the reason we came here is Number One. But last night’s action has caused a stir, and Iron Cloud is now on guard. Even if Number One is still alive, we have lost all hopes of rescuing him!”
Cheng Yun he sighed, “If the prime minister knows about this, he will be really sad!”
“It’s only some Number One, leader of the spy network. He might be somewhat resourceful, but so what? After all, he can’t really affect the big picture.” Kong Shang Xin replied in disdain.
“Do you know who Number One is?” Cheng Yen he looked at Kong Shang Xin sadly, “Your careless actions ruined Number One’s chance of survival. Could it be that you really have no clue about Number One’s origin?”
“Normally, these types of missions are taken care of by Golden Horse Riders Department. But the prime minister arranged this himself and carefully repeated his orders many times. Because of the gravity of this situation, he sent me to prevent you from acting recklessly!”
“Do you know why the prime minister placed great importance on this?”
“Why?” Kong Shang Xin felt slightly uneasy.
“Since we started this mission, when King level leader Yin came here, the prime minister had said that we should absolutely not assassinate Tie Bu Tian. The moment we make an attempt at Tie Bu Tian’s life, whether successful or not, we will provoke Iron Cloud’s anger. Without any other place to vent their rage, they will take it out on Number One and kill him! This proves that Number One is more important to the prime minister than Tie Bu Tian!”
Cheng Yun He continued, “When he sent me here, the prime minister recognized how important King of Hell Chu was to Iron Cloud. So he especially emphasized that rescuing Number One and eliminating our misunderstanding with that mystery clan was to be our main priority. Plus, he even added that if we are not certain, do not touch King of Hell Chu. Do you know why?”
“Note the prime minister words, ‘rescue Number One and eliminate our misunderstanding with that mystery clan’! The words ‘rescue Number One’ come first.”
Cheng Yun He sighed deeply, “The prime minister was worried that you people would let your emotions rule your action, so he repeated many times that you should wait for me to come and discuss things before taking action. Is that not worth the least bit of your attention?”
“It is because the prime minister knows that I understand how important Number One is to him!” Cheng Yun He burst out sadly.
“So who is Number One?” There were beads of sweat on Kong Shang Xin’s forehead. Hearing Cheng Yun He saying all of that, if he still did not understand Number One’s importance, then he might as well die.
“In all of his life, the prime minister’s teacher only had two disciples!” Cheng Yun He said solemnly, “Do you know who the other person was?”
“Is it Number One?” Kong Shang Xin suddenly choked, and sweat ran down his face.
“If not Number One, then who?” Cheng Yun He angrily glared at him.
“Back then, the two martial brothers depended on each other. Number One was eight years younger than the prime minister. The two served Great Zhao together; one was in the light, and one was in the shadow. Until now, Number One has never revealed his real name to anyone else. The creation of Golden Horse Riders Department was a joint effort of the two of them!”
“Later, the prime minister gradually grew in status at Great Zhao and Number One faded from everyone’s mind. But after seven or eight years, there was news about a saint amongst Iron Cloud’s officials. Do you know why?” Cheng Yun He said somberly, “Because back then, the prime minister, Han Bu Chu, Number One, and I drank together…”
At this point, Cheng Yun He sighed and could not help but reminisce.
The four of them were all young back then. Number One was only twenty years old, and Diwu Qing Rou did not have the power he currently had. The four had drank more than three rounds and were becoming drunk.
After getting drunk, they started to discuss about their goals and ambitions. Diwu Qing Rou said, “In all of history, Nine Heavens has never been united under one ruler. There has always been different warlords creating chaos. My ambition in life is being able to unify this vast Nine Heavens by my own hands!”
At that time, Diwu Qing Rou held the wine cup in his hand. While his gaze was somewhat intoxicated, his voice remained calm, “A man’s head should hold up the sky, the sun and the moon, and his feet should stand on this vast land. He should look down at millions of lives and rule over them all! When drunk… resting one’s head on a beauty’s lap, but not being some ordinary lusty demon. When sober… ruling over the world. This is what a man’s ambition should be! A man should live in eternal glory. Who needs a beauty next to him?”
At this point, Number One was drunk, but he still laughed and said, “If you can be in charge of Great Zhao, this little brother will hand Iron Cloud to you with two hands as a gift to congratulate your effort to unify the world!”
No one knew that those impromptu words became the objective of the lifelong efforts of these two; plus, they almost succeeded!
If Chu Yang was there, he would say sadly, “Not ‘almost succeeded’, but ‘succeeded’!” In the previous life, Tang Xin Sheng did hand Iron Cloud over to Diwu Qing Rou as a gift.
Looking back at the past, Cheng Yun He unconsciously let out a sigh in his dream state.
Among the four people from that time, one of them had become a prime minister of a nation capable of affecting the world. In reality, he was an emperor.
And the other snuck into Iron Cloud and became a model saint amongst officials. While they were both were leaders in their respective fields, they were both working for the same goal.
As for Cheng Yun He, he became Diwu Qing Rou’s assistant and took care of some issues that were difficult to deal with working silently in the shadow. With regards to Han Bu Chu… Cheng Yun He knew that, besides Diwu Qing Rou, Han Bu Chu was the most frightening person!
Han Bu Chu almost fanatically worshipped Diwu Qing Rou. For Diwu Qing Rou, he would be willing to do anything without a care for methods or morals.
All the bad things were done by him in the dark, but the good reputation was enjoyed by Diwu Qing Rou. Things that were inconvenient for Diwu Qing Rou to do or say, Han Bu Chu was there to do and say them…
Han Bu Chu saw himself as a stepping stone for Diwu Qing Rou. And he did it all voluntarily and wholeheartedly. He spared no effort for Diwu Qing Rou!
There were many secret situations where Cheng Yun He himself was not even allowed to participate, but Han Bu Chu secretly discussed them with Diwu Qing Rou.
These were those four people.
Today, Number One fell into King of Hell Chu’s trap in Iron Cloud. And Han Bu Chu was tossed into a quagmire by his own teammate. He could not pull out, could not advance, and could not back up! The other two were thousands of miles away waiting for his news.
Thinking of this, Cheng Yun He suddenly wanted to drink.
Right now, what he wanted most was to go back to that time and drink with the others, drink until they were drunk… absolutely drunk!
“So Number One’s position is that important…” Yin Wu Fa and Kong Shang Xin looked at each other, “But why didn’t the prime minister tell us?”
“The prime minister would never speak about this kind of thing!” Cheng Yun He, “How could he reveal such an intimate relationship?”
Kong Shang Xin sighed. His injuries seemed to be affected so his body shook slightly.
“Let’s use this time to calm down a little.” Cheng Yun He smiled. In the depth of his eyes, the emotion from the past rose up, and he immediately recovered his original composure. He said, “First, you two recover well. If we don’t have strength on our side, we will not be able to even negotiate!”
“All of our ranks will temporarily remain dormant in Iron Cloud!” Cheng Yun He’s voice was very calm, but a trace of helplessness pushed its way out, “We will wait until you are all recovered to your peak condition before continuing.”
“Then… the prime minister’s plans will be delayed?” Yin Wu Fa said.
“If we show ourselves to work on our missions, we will surely die!” Cheng Yun He said, “You are all injured like this; you cannot even protect yourselves. How can you talk of big plans?”
“How long will it take for all of you to recover from your injuries?”
“I… will probably need a month…!” Yin Wu Fa grunted. His eyes flashed with strong hatred. He had Jade Spirit Ginseng, one of the nine great legendary herbs, for his injuries and still needed a month. He knew how serious his injuries were.
“I need half a month!” Kong Shang Xin said casually, “If need be, ten days would be enough with a small difference!” His gaze became icy, “But I can assure you, King of Hell Chu’s injuries are absolutely more seriously compared to mine! As for one of the other King level leader on their side, his injuries are probably not any less than mine either!” His voice was full arrogance.
“That was not King of Hell Chu!” Cheng Yun He sighed weakly. Why does King level leader Kong keep insisting this?
Two of four King level leaders from Golden Horse Riders Department fell for the trap… This is incredible! I wonder what kind of tactics King of Hell Chu used…
“I will immediately send news to the prime minister about what happened here.” Cheng Yun He took a deep breath and said, “Second leader Kong, tell me what happened these past few days. Give me every detail. The prime minister asked for the most truthful information so he could make a good judgement.”
Kong Shang Xin showed a look of shame and sadly complied.
“The rest of you don’t need Jade Spirit Ginseng for your injuries, right? Give me the two extra pieces of Jade Spirit Ginseng!” Cheng Yun He quickly decided to take back the two priceless items from Kong Shang Xin.
Currently, it seemed no longer possible to eliminate the misunderstandings, and it was likely that Number One is dead. Those two pieces of Jade Spirit Ginseng should not be left to be ruined in the hands of these two thugs…