"Father! Give me some money!" Fang Zhiyi looked a little unnatural when he said this.
Fang Hongyuan was also taken aback for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. He didn't ask, because he knew that Fang Zhiyi had been either playing around or associating with those impoverished families recently. As long as he didn't do anything foolish, anything was fine.
He gave Fang Zhiyi some silver and told him not to spend it recklessly.
Fang Zhiyi turned around and went straight to the tavern to enjoy himself. When the informant went back to report, Fang Hongyuan smiled and shook his head, his face full of contempt.
"Master, who are these people?" Fang Zhiyi led his two confidants into the private room. Seeing that several people were already seated inside, the two of them were a bit stunned.
"These people?" Fang Zhiyi smiled.
Those people stood up in unison: "Greetings, My Lord."
"Sit, sit down, everyone." Fang Zhiyi raised his hand to gesture. "They are all frustrated officials and clerks from the government office, scribes, record keepers..."
Looking at the shabby appearance of this group, Zhang Qi suddenly felt even more uncertain. "My Lord, what is the use of winning them over?"
Fang Zhiyi simply tapped him on the head. "This is why you are uneducated. Don't ask, just watch."
But he couldn't see anything. Fang Zhiyi just ate and drank with them, and when they were in high spirits, they even called each other brothers. Those minor clerks were usually ignored by others, so being suddenly treated so warmly by the prefect, they almost cried tears of joy.
The next day, Fang Zhiyi continued to host a dinner here for people from a few marginalized noble families. At the dining table, Fang Zhiyi lowered his status and gave them plenty of face, patting his chest in guarantee and making grand promises. The representatives of the noble families were glowing with excitement.
On the third day, seeing soldiers in soft armor walk in, Zhang Qi was a bit dumbfounded. "My Lord..."
Those few burly soldiers spoke first. "My Lord! We brothers have arrived!"
Fang Zhiyi was delighted. "Brothers! I was afraid you wouldn't come today. Look, I specially got some good wine for you." He mysteriously patted the jar. "Knowing you like strong liquor, I went out of my way to get this."
"You are too kind, My Lord!"
Amidst the clinking of glasses, Zhang Qi somewhat understood. These soldiers were not high-ranking officers of the Qingzhou garrison, but a few battalion commanders. His mind was a mess, unable to connect all these things together.
But one thing was certain: Lord Fang had an excellent tolerance for alcohol. For three consecutive days, he appeared to be dead drunk, but as soon as the guests left, he instantly sobered up.
Even when facing this group of soldiers, it was the same.
It wasn't until a few days later that Fang Zhiyi suddenly said, "It's time to make some money."
Hearing his nonsensical words, Zhang Qi and Liu Mang felt that His Lordship must have gone a bit mad. The two of them had already given up hope.
It was still that same tavern, and he still went to Fang Hongyuan for money. Fang Hongyuan merely asked one question before readily handing over the cash. How much could eating and drinking possibly cost? He was very satisfied with Fang Zhiyi's current state.
Liu Mang and Zhang Qi only tagged along to get a free meal and some drinks. As for the plan His Lordship mentioned, they would just let him boast about it on his own.
After all, he was originally just a bookworm who only knew how to study blindly.
"My Lord, after I went back, I discussed it with the old master of my family..." The scion of the noble family subconsciously looked at Zhang Qi and the other who were stuffing their faces with food. Fang Zhiyi waved his hand. "My confidants."
The man felt relieved. "If what Your Lordship promised is true, our Gu family is willing to be your pawns!"
"Our Lan family feels the same."
"The Ma family is also willing to lead the charge for Your Lordship!"
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "I'm not asking you to fight a war. Why make it sound so serious?"
Zhang Qi had a blank look on his face. What were they talking about? What had he missed? His face was full of question marks. Liu Mang was much simpler; he just ate whatever there was to eat and drank whatever there was to drink.
Over the next two days, Zhang Qi suddenly felt like a fool, and Liu Mang went without saying, he simply was one.
Those soldiers didn't care about all that; they directly kicked him and Liu Mang out, and then discussed something with His Lordship inside. When they left, they even threw their arms around His Lordship's shoulders, just like blood brothers.
Those minor clerks who only knew how to stay in their offices also came. He couldn't understand a single word of what they were discussing, but His Lordship seemed to understand perfectly and could even offer them advice.
Although Zhang Qi was still completely baffled, his intuition told him that getting on Fang Zhiyi's boat was not a mistake.
Zhang Qi finally decided to ask His Lordship for clarification. He also wanted to make progress, and most importantly, he didn't want to be left behind.
Fang Zhiyi was practicing calligraphy and smiled when he saw him coming.
Zhang Qi was thinking about how to ask more tactfully, but his thoughts were laid bare by Fang Zhiyi in a single sentence.
"You are here to ask what exactly I am doing, aren't you?"
Zhang Qi was stunned for a moment. Only then did he realize that the Lord before him felt a bit more experienced and calculating compared to a few days ago, with much less of a bookworm's aura, much like the aura of the old master.
Zhang Qi inexplicably felt a surge of nervousness.
"Zhang Qi, you are on my side, right?" Fang Zhiyi suddenly asked.
Zhang Qi nodded. "My Lord, I already said so that night."
Fang Zhiyi put down his brush. "Then I will tell you, our first sum of money will be squeezed out of my second brother."
"Ah? Second Master?"
"Isn't he staying in Yunhe County? He comes over from time to time. A few days ago, there was a message that he would be coming with the goods tomorrow. When the time comes, I'll collude with the garrison, cover our faces, and rob him. If possible, I'll break his legs while I'm at it." Fang Zhiyi's smile revealed a chilling intent.
Zhang Qi was so frightened by the dangerous aura he exuded that he trembled a little.
"You are going to rob your second brother?" Little Hei looked at the departing Zhang Qi.
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "I am a scholar, not a bandit. I just want to see if this lackey is a man or a ghost, or rather, whether he wants to be a man or a ghost."
The next day, Fang Hongyuan did not come, and Fang Yan did not come either. Everything at home was perfectly normal.
Except for Zhang Qi, who spaced out from time to time. It wasn't until he saw the Second Master, Fang Heng, walk in from outside covered in travel dust that he stood up in shock. Fortunately, no one noticed a servant like him.
He was surprised that the Second Master was actually fine. Could it be that His Lordship's plan had gone wrong?
He didn't realize the answer to this question until he saw Fang Zhiyi's meaningful gaze. Instantly, for the first time, Zhang Qi felt a sense of fear towards Fang Zhiyi. This feeling did not stem from his status, but from the fact that Fang Zhiyi's rate of growth had exceeded his imagination.
Fang Zhiyi did not explain anything to him, but instead issued a new order.
"Here is an old booklet I had someone compile. Take it and deliver it to the Gu family. Pass on a message for me: my sincerity has arrived."
Zhang Qi took the tattered booklet. It was neither wrapped nor sealed. Fang Zhiyi just casually handed it to him, as if it were some worthless trash.
"If you want to read it, don't hold back," Fang Zhiyi said casually.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
