Chapter 487: Only choice

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

"Elder?!"

"Come out and greet me?!"

Zhang Yangping and the villagers were shocked to hear this. Chi Hou"s tone was rather strange.

Weren"t they here to capture Fang Zhengzhi?

To the villagers, the presence of the Red Pinion Squad meant that they were here to catch Fang Zhengzhi.

Why would they ask the person they wanted to catch to come out and greet them?!

What was happening?!

Could it be...

Was the Divine Constabulary giving Fang Zhengzhi time to escape?

Zhang Yangping and the villagers became increasingly hopeful. Even though they had no idea why Chi Hou would cut Fang Zhengzhi any slack, they were just happy that he was.

Just as they were about to express their grat.i.tude...

They heard a voice from behind them.

"My Lord, since you are visiting as an elder, why are you letting my relatives kneel before you?" The voice came from within the village, but one could tell that it was getting nearer with each pa.s.sing moment.

"Relatives?" Chi Hou squinted, then turned to look at the kneeling villagers. He smiled...

Zhang Yangping and the other villagers were stumped.

They knew that the voice belonged to Fang Zhengzhi, but they could not understand what was happening. Chi Hou seemed prepared to let Fang Zhengzhi escape...

Why would Fang Zhengzhi step forward?

Why would Fang Zhengzhi call them relatives and call Chi Hou his elder?

They were just villagers, how could they possibly be compared to the Divine Constabulary"s leader?

Kneel?

They were lucky that they weren"t killed!

Zhang Yangping and the villagers were anxious. They knew that Fang Zhengzhi was very smart, but they couldn"t help but feel that Fang Zhengzhi was acting stupidly!

Just as they were thinking it, a voice rang out.

"Since you are all Fang Zhengzhi"s relatives, you are my relatives as well. Please rise!" The voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for all to hear.

"Relatives?"

"Rise?"

Zhang Yangping and the villagers looked at each other in confusion. n.o.body stood up. None of them knew what was happening.

All of them were stunned.

Did Chi Hou, the leader of the Divine Constabulary, just call them his relatives?

"Are all of you going to continue kneeling? Do you want me to kneel as well?" Chi Hou began to take a knee.

"No, we would not dare. The Divine Constabulary fought against the barbarians. We are just ordinary villagers, how can we be compared with you?"

"Indeed indeed."

"Everyone, rise."

Zhang Yangping and the villagers panicked. They scrambled to their feet.

Chi Hou nodded when he saw this. Then, he straightened his back and scanned the Northern Mountain Village. His gaze rested on a wooden statue.

"Rascal, aren"t you going to welcome me?" There was rage in Chi Hou"s voice.

At that moment, a figure walked out from behind the statue. This figure walked slowly and deliberately.

Chi Hou looked at this figure as he walked towards the gate. He didn"t speak, waiting for Fang Zhengzhi to approach.

Qingyi tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. She was waiting as well, however, she wasn"t waiting for Fang Zhengzhi.

Zhang Yangping and the villagers were anxious as well. They never expected this to happen. The Red Pinion Squad, the Divine Constabulary...

Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected this to happen.

Most importantly, Chi Hou"s att.i.tude was a surprise. Elder? Relatives? What was happening?

Fang Zhengzhi stopped in front of Chi Hou.

"Greetings, my lord!" The figure bowed towards Chi Hou.

"That"s better!" Chi Hou spoke after Fang Zhengzhi bowed. Then, he turned to look at the 2000 Red Pinion Squad soldiers, "Jingfeng!"

"Here!"

"Have the Red Pinion Squad wait outside the village. If there is nothing important, do not enter and disturb us!" Chi Hou ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Jingfeng nodded as he turned to face the Red Pinion Squad, "Red Pinion Squad, set up camp here!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers dismounted and got to work.

Zhang Yangping and the villagers were all stunned when they saw this. The Divine Constabulary really wasn"t going to enter the village?

How was that possible?

This was the Red Pinion Squad, the elite squad of the Northern Five Constabularies! Yet, they were going to stay outside the village?

"Rascal, I came on your rules, shouldn"t you be showing me some gesture of friends.h.i.+p?" Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi.

"What would you like to eat?"

"I heard from Chi Guyan that the meat you grill is very nice. Since I am here today, I must eat my fill."

"The meat I grill is expensive." Fang Zhengzhi"s lips twitched.

"Price is not a concern to me. I didn"t bring any money with me."

"..." Fang Zhengzhi finally understood why people said Chi Hou was a difficult man to deal with. Chi Guyan was much easier to deal with.

It was impossible that he left home without bringing some silvers with him?

Unbelievable!

...

The 2000 Red Pinion Squad soldiers were still camped outside the village. The villagers couldn"t possibly ignore the most elite squad in the Northern Region.

The villagers began to cook for the soldiers.

Li Jingfeng didn"t stop them. He thanked them briefly, then shoved a few silvers into Zhang Yangping"s hand.

"No wine!" He remarked.

"Okay, okay!" Zhang Yangping knew that the "no drinking whilst on duty" rule. He told the villagers to keep the alcohol.

In the Fang Residence...

Qin Xuelian was stunned.

Fang Zhengzhi had told her before he left that he would have someone home for dinner.

However...

Qin Xuelian never expected that the guest would be Chi Hou!

Why would the leader of the Divine Constabulary dine here?!

She couldn"t believe it, but she had no other choice. He was standing in front of her. Fang Houde was equally shocked.

Fang Houde had seen Chi Hou at the gates of the village. He also heard Chi Hou say that he wanted to eat the meat that Fang Zhengzhi grilled.

For free!

...

Since grilling the meat would take some time, they had some food to manage their hunger.

There was an animal being roasted on a rack.

Chi Hou and Fang Zhengzhi sat by the fire.

"Thank you for looking after the Northern Mountain Village over the past year." Fang Zhengzhi remarked.

"That was something Chi Guyan wanted to do. It had nothing to do with me." Chi Hou shook his head.

"I see, no thanks given then." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.

"No thanks? You rascal, even though taking care of the village was Chi Guyan"s idea, she has been in the Heavenly Dao Pavilion for the past year. Who do you think carried out her wishes?" Chi Hou squinted.

"It wouldn"t have been you either way."

"..." Chi Hou was stunned. Then, he chuckled, "Okay then, you don"t have to thank me for that, but you must thank me for what I"m about to say next!"

"I"m guessing that your visit has nothing to do with Chi Guyan." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

"Hahaha, I see that you"ve already seen through my motive for coming. Since that is the case, I will not beat around the bush. I came on my own accord." Chi Hou chuckled.

"Not King Duan?"

"Oh? You have matured much in the past year!" Chi Hou"s eyes glittered as he nodded, "King Duan did send a letter to me!"

"Spare me if I align myself with you, kill me if I say otherwise?" Fang Zhengzhi added.

"Exactly!"

"What if I choose not to comply? Will you kill me now?"

"Kill you? I never considered that. If you choose not to take this offer, then I will catch you and bring you back to stand trial!" Chi Hou shook his head.

"So I should just count my lucky stars and accept your offer?"

""Yes, because you don"t have a choice!" Chi Hou a.s.serted.

"Okay then, please arrest me."

"You rascal, do you really want that to happen? Me, King Duan, and yourself know the truth about what happened in the Southern Region. However, what we know is of little importance. You should know what this is about!" Chi Hou"s eyes glittered.

"The fight for the throne?"

"That is just one side to it. There is also diplomacy! The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne! If our Crown Prince killed the Crown Prince of one of our va.s.sals, it would cause an international incident! The Emperor would never let this happen, unless..."

"The Crown Prince was disposed of." Fang Zhengzhi replied.

"Exactly. The Emperor would not touch this case until he decides to get rid of the Crown Prince. He would not investigate this incident either. As such, you will have to wait if you want to live." Chi Hou nodded.

"Wait for the Crown Prince to be disposed of?"

"Yes."

"But I have already shown myself. How can I still live?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

"The purpose of my trip is to give you a chance to escape. Once you escape, you will be given a new ident.i.ty and appearance. King Duan and I will personally arrange for you to enter the courts!"

"Enter the courts? Are you trying to send me to the slaughter?"

"Haha, of course not! Fang Zhengzhi, you should know that the Emperor is a smart man, much smarter than I ever thought." Chi Hou chuckled.

"What you"re saying is... the Emperor wouldn"t kill me even if he knows who I am?" Fang Zhengzhi smiled.

"Exactly. If he wanted to kill you, you wouldn"t have been able to live until now. The Emperor will spare you and will place great value on you. You may even become a minister in the future!" Chi Hou a.s.serted.

"What makes you so sure?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

"Rascal, aren"t you a smart person? I think you can tell!" Chi Hou raised his teacup.

"Because I am the only one who can keep the Crown Prince in check?"

"Exactly. The Crown Prince has allies in the courts and the constabularies. The balance in the courts has been broken over the past year. The Emperor isn"t against a united front, but he does not want the Crown Prince to go unchecked!"

"So the Emperor wants someone who is willing to go against the Crown Prince?" Fang Zhengzhi asked.

"Yes, as long as you appear in the courts, you will become a hindrance to the Crown Prince. He will not let you remain, so he will do everything in his power to get rid of you. That means that he will be distracted from consolidating his power..." Chi Hou nodded.

"And I won"t be hunted?"

"Rest a.s.sured. I will personally accompany you into the capital. With King Duan at the helm of the army, your safety is a.s.sured!"

"Is your excuse to enter the capital to ask for forgiveness for your inability to capture me?"

"Hahaha... you have really matured over the past year. Yes, I will go there to apologize for failing to capture you."

"Aren"t you afraid that this will cause you to lose power over the Northern Five Constabularies? Aren"t you afraid that Su Qing will capitalize and take over your territory?"

"Do I look afraid to you?" Chi Hou asked.

"You come here to help me escape. Then, you plan to go to the capital to apologize for the same reason. You are using that as an excuse to smuggle me into the capital just to destabilize the Crown Prince"s hold on the courts. This is a good plan. I wonder who is the mastermind?" Fang Zhengzhi was impressed.

"Haha, that is not important. The important point here is that there is no downside here for you. Your cultivation has been wrecked and you cannot possibly go down that path anymore. The courts are your only choice now!" Chi Hou replied solemnly.