Chapter 221 Zhuge Jiangnan and Poisonous Fox

Zhuge Jiangnan looked at the handkerchief, which gave him a sad complexion and ray of grief in his eyes. Then, all of a sudden, he burst into laughter, but he laughed with great loneliness, as well as some frustration. He did not explain but asked directly, “How is Master Long going to punish me? According to Master Long’s usual punishment of traitors, I presumably am sure not to end well.”

Lord Long said in a deep voice, “Don’t you want to make any excuses for yourself?”

Zhuge Jiangnan laughed with a little sorrow. “Obviously, you’ve come here to bring me to trial, which gives me no space to justify myself. Furthermore, what kind of explanation can I give to dispel the suspicion in your heart? I have no idea about the handkerchief. If you have the mind to beat your dog, you will easily find your stick.”

Lord Long sighed and said, “Like you have said, perhaps I will not believe whatever you say anymore. However, I, Lord Long, am not a man with little emotion, so I will not kill you, for you have saved our four lives and helped me to walk so far. But from now on, I still hope that you can stay at Zhuge Mansion to spend your old days, and you cannot go out of the mansion without my permission.”

Lord Long stood up, walked to the door step by step, and then stretched out his hand to grab the handle. With a squeaky sound, he opened the door of the study easily and then stepped out, disappearing into the study.

Lord Long took the step, which meant he would break up with Zhuge Jiangnan.

Zhuge Jiangnan sat there, and suddenly he seemed to have aged greatly. He started to grope around on the desk and then he opened several drawers to rummage through them. Finally, he found out a pipe and a pack of pipe tobacco, which he hadn’t smoked for a very long time. He hadn’t touched the pipe again since his coming to Shangyang to mastermind schemes for Lord Long because he thought he had to concentrate his attention at all times, keep his mind clear, and achieve his utmost self-control.

It was a pity… that he was lost in the end. He had schemed thousands of times, but he underestimated others while overestimating himself. He thought Lord Long had highly respected him and Lord Long had treated him as Liu Bei dealt with Zhuge Kongming. (Note: two leading features in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, famous for their close relationship.) However, Lord Long was not Liu Bei and he was not Kongming.

Compared with Kongming, he was not so clear-headed that he didn’t find a wise lord. He only saw Lord Long with great physical strength, the air of a lord all over his body, and full of ambition in his heart. But he never noticed that in spite of a woman’s kindness in his heart, Lord Long had no tolerance for others, just like Xiang Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He became quite calm after he took a deep breath of smoke, the haze coiling up before his eyes, and behind it, his face showed inexplicable sadness.

After a while of smoking, his pipe tobacco had burnt out while Zhuge Jiangnan was still stupefied quietly without being aware of it.

Not knowing how long it took, Zhuge Jiangnan finally came back to his senses. He picked up the handset on the desk, making a call, and said to it, “Come to my study.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhuge Jiangnan rested in his armchair with his body slightly leaning backward and his eyes indistinctly revealing a little arrogance.

Very soon, the sound of a knock on the door came, and Zhuge Jiangnan gently said, “Come in.”

With a squeaky sound, the door was opened, and Poisonous Fox stepped in from outside, keeping his head down. After walking to the desk, he said with a respectful attitude, “Master.”

“Erm, sit down and let’s talk.”

Poisonous Fox sat on the sofa with great respect.

Zhuge Jiangnan watched him and asked, “Why don’t you dare to look at me? Is it because you feel guilty about doing something harmful to me?”

Poisonous Fox felt a shake of his body, raising his head hastily, and looked at Zhuge Jiangnan. He wanted to justify himself, but he realized that Zhuge Jiangnan had seen through him, which made any of his excuses useless. At last, he had to sigh and said with bitter laughter, “How did Master see that?”

“I found out not by seeing, but by guessing,” said Zhuge Jiangnan. “In my mansion, it is you two fellow disciples who can run off with my handkerchief without any notice. Your senior fellow disciple, Jiang Wu, who has learned positive things from me, is good at the whole situation but bad at schemes. You have learned the negative sides from me, which makes you an expert in scheming others. It couldn’t be any more normal for you to steal the handkerchief away to scheme against me.”

Zhuge Jiangnan continued to say, “You have schemed Lord Long so deeply that you even outdo your master in this aspect. You know how to make Lord Long suspect me, yet knowing that he won’t kill me. Well, well, Poisonous Fox, you make me proud of you.”

Poisonous Fox said bitterly, “Master.”

“There is no need to say more. I am not blaming you, truly not. A person who is good at schemes must avoid the fetters of emotion as the greatest taboo. You can even plot against me, which naturally gives me no worry in this aspect, so I can put my mind at ease.” Zhuge Jiangnan looked at Poisonous Fox and said, with doubts on his face, “I am only unaware of who has come up with this idea, because according to my understanding of you, I know you wouldn’t have done this if there is no one behind to push you. What’s more, you must have found the right master. Could it be said that you have met with Jiang Zihou? Does he dare come to Shangyang City to see you?”

Poisonous Fox shook his head and said, “The person is not Jiang Zihou.”

“It is not Jiang Zihou? Then who is it?”

“Xiao Bing.”

Zhuge Jiangnan showed surprise on his face but then relief when he thought it over. “No wonder… no wonder… I saw that he was not ordinary at first sight, but I didn’t imagine that he could go so far to the point where you, a proud and arrogant man, even submitted yourself to him. His current influence is… Forget it. I believe you have a better vision than me.”

With a guilty expression on his face, Poisonous Fox asked in a tentative voice, “Master, don’t you really hate me?”

“I don’t hate you,” Zhuge Jiangnan sighed and said. “Even without you, the conflict between Lord Long and me would have broken out sooner or later. I was too convinced of his trust in me. It is quite good that you let me see through his nature in advance. I am tired, you can leave…”

“Yes, Master…”

Poisonous Fox went to the door. Before he stepped out, Zhuge Jiangnan said, “From now on, you can leave Zhuge Mansion as well as Shangyang City at any time.”

Poisonous Fox felt a shake in his body, and turned around to look at Zhuge Jiangnan. With a little excitement in his emotion, he said, “Master.”

“You are not expelled from Zhuge Mansion. It’s just that you have been with me for so long, and it’s time for you to begin your own career. Since you have taken this step, then do not look back. Though I have helped Lord Long to build today’s huge influence, what will happen next has nothing to do with me. It’s a matter between you two…”

“Nevertheless, I have to remind you of Lord Long’s fathomless power. Sometimes, one of the top masters is equal to a nuclear weapon. Moreover, among the three northern provinces, he has occupied two provinces alone without my planning for him. Even if he has lost Octopus and Poisonous Lady, he has still assembled the top masters of two provinces. That Jiang Zihou fighting against Lord Long is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, let alone Xiao Bing.”

Poisonous Fox said, “I know that. Since I have chosen Xiao Bing, I will try my best to accompany him and become mature together, without hesitation. Furthermore, I believe that Lord Long looks like a colossus without Master’s support but there is still a chance to fight. I, Poisonous Fox, will help Xiao Bing as much as possible, and I will not regret even if we lose the fight.”

Zhuge Jiangnan nodded his head. “Well, that is the momentum that should belong to my disciple.”

Poisonous Fox asked, “How about my senior fellow disciple? Will he be with me…?”

“He won’t go,” Zhuge Jiangnan said in a calm tone. “He won’t assist the same person as you, for it’s hard to hold two tigers in one mountain.”

“We are fellows…”

“Even if you are fellows, it’s the same,” Zhuge Jiangnan said. “Your senior fellow disciple will accompany me first until he has his own goal that he can pursue. It’s up to you whether you will leave or stay.”

“Then… how about you, Master?”

“Me? I will stay in Zhuge Mansion until the moment you gain your victory or defeat. Then I will leave Shangyang City and go all around to take a look around, spending my old age at ease.”

Poisonous Fox let out a sigh, and then opened the door and went out. “Master, since we have all decided on our future life, you can rest assured that Poisonous Fox will not let you down.

“Brother Bing must not let me down, either.”

In Poisonous Fox’s mind, a young man emerged whose eyes were filled with absolute confidence as if he had controlled everything in his hands.

Xiao Bing!

When Lord Long was intending to capture Xiao Bing and his fellows, they had already come back to Jiang City. The assassination action had gone quite smoothly, so as a result, Dumbass and Zhan Hongyan returned safe and sound, and Xiao Bing was also slightly injured.

After bandaging his wound appropriately in the hospital, Xiao Bing went to Hou Palace. Having discussed the gains of Xiao Bing’s actions, Master Hou, Xiao Bing, and Mu Tingchuan had a detailed talk about what to do next.

Mu Tingchuan laughed and said, “This time, Lord Long suffered a huge loss at long last because he not only had many important people killed but also completely lost his trust in Zhuge Jiangnan. I’m afraid that it’s uncertain whether Zhuge Jiangnan can survive or not. What’s more, Master Hou has unified whole Hei Province. Though we are still poor in influence and strength compared with Lord Long, after all, we are able to compete against him to some extent. Mr. Xiao, this is all due to your contribution.”

Xiao Bing shook his head and said with a serious face, “It is not time to be happy, for Lord Long has the power of two provinces. His masters must be more than the three who accompanied him back, and his number of masters must be more than ours. Moreover, Lord Long himself is a top master. To be honest, even if we have entered on the list of innate masters, we are not a match for Lord Long. We have no chance of triumph over him. He’s like a nuclear weapon. It is not used easily in peacetime, but when he is forced to have no choice but use it, he will risk his life to fight. Then, who can kill him?”

Jiang Zihou said, “Mr. Xiao is right. Although the situation now is better, it is not hopeful. Yet in the event of dealing with Lord Long, we have a choice here.”

Xiao Bing asked, “Who?”

Jiang Zihou turned back to look at the man standing behind him, Miyamoto Shinji!

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