Grudge Breaker

Chapter 400: Counterattack with an Army
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"you you……"

Meng Mengda subconsciously took two steps back. Could it be that Jing Zheng had been here all along?! Recalling Jing Lan's reaction, many things suddenly became clear to him. No wonder Jing Lan wasn't surprised to see him; he had been here all along!

"Is this the power of the disguise potion that Granny Huang made?"

Jing Zheng walked up to Meng Mengda, who was still somewhat dazed, and looked him over. Then, he looked at himself carefully again, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

“It’s so similar!”

He even began to compare the few black hairs on the backs of the two men's hands that were peeking out from their sleeves.

"Although I have been hiding in the caves near the Ghost Market for years and have heard of Granny Huang's renowned medicines, this is the first time I have seen the effects of the Disguise Water up close."

Uncle Fei smiled slightly upon hearing this, "It's not entirely thanks to that medicine."

“That kid,” Uncle Fei gestured with his chin toward Meng Mengda, “don’t forget, he’s never seen you before.”

"We've never met, yet you can perfectly recreate me using the Disguise Water. You probably can't find another person like you in the whole world with that ability."

He sighed again, "What a pity, Mengda. I valued you highly and had planned to nurture you for our future cause, but now..."

"Let me finish what you said for you, Uncle."

Meng Mengda snapped out of his daze upon first seeing Jing Zheng and looked at Uncle Fei again.

“But now that things have come to this, you have no choice but to kill me, and then… let the real Jing Zheng go back to see Lord Si Chen in my place, Uncle, am I right?”

"Good lad, I knew you were teachable." Uncle Fei's eyes gleamed. "And then? Continue."

"Then……"

Unlike Uncle Fei, the light in Meng Mengda's eyes gradually dimmed.

"Then, Jing Zheng will definitely claim that he has an important secret letter to report in private, thereby temporarily diverting everyone else's attention. Then, taking advantage of Lord Si Chen's lack of vigilance, you will have Jing Zheng assassinate him!"

“Once you succeed, not only will Goddess Peak be thrown into chaos, but the entire Sichen Mansion and even the Mei Realm will be thrown into turmoil. At that time, the great cause you spoke of will surely be put into practice soon. As for me…” Meng Mengda smiled bitterly, “I will become the biggest traitor of Sichen Mansion and even the Mei Realm, despised and abandoned by the world, and never to be redeemed.”

Uncle Fei nodded, his eyes still gleaming, but he seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Meng Mengda's answer.

"You're talking about the ideal situation. But what if it doesn't work out? After all, the man surnamed Mo is cunning and has the strongest combat power in the Sleeping Realm. Taking him down won't be easy."

“Moreover…” Uncle Fei looked at the real Jing Zheng, “I don’t want Jing Zheng to go into danger alone, only to expose his identity instead of stealing the chicken.”

"Uncle, what exactly do you want to do?" Meng Mengda couldn't figure it out.

"Well, you'll know when the time comes," Uncle Fei said, keeping everyone in suspense. "Mengda, don't worry about these things." He nodded to the real Jing Zheng, who understood and walked towards Meng Mengda.

"Excuse me, young man."

"Wait!!" Meng Mengda took a few steps back. "Uncle! Can I die knowing the truth before I die? Since Jing Zheng has been lurking in Jing Lan's residence and hasn't left, then everything Jing Lan did when I first entered the cave was an act, right? You're all in cahoots? In other words, even Ruan Mianmian's disappearance was part of your scheme, right!"

"Young man, what do you take me for!" Before Uncle Fei could speak, Jing Zheng, who was standing close to Meng Mengda, preemptively declared, "I am a dignified镖王 (bodyguard king) and the Protector General personally appointed by the lord of the territory! Even if I have fallen to this half-human, half-beast state, I would never use my own granddaughter as a pawn!"

"And Lan'er, her anxious disappearance has already exhausted her. How can I let her get involved in things that only men should do? Her actions towards you are all from the heart, and she also regards you as me."

“This…” Upon hearing this, Meng Mengda was at a loss for words, so he looked at Uncle Fei again, “But Jing Lan knew that you were the mastermind behind Jing Zheng, yet she kept quiet about it. In the end, you are still in cahoots.”

"Hehe, Mengda, I told you, you're still too young."

Uncle Fei chuckled, “Things in this world are not simply black and white; gray is the underlying color of all things.”

"You're right, Madam Jing does know that I'm the mastermind behind Jing Zheng, but so what?"

"What good did she get from revealing this secret? Besides exposing her father's secret, destroying the Jing family's hereditary marquisate, tarnishing her own reputation as 'Princess Zhonghui,' and ultimately ruining Ruan Mianmian's chances of marrying into a noble family, what did she gain?"

“Mengda, it’s not only the dead who can keep secrets.”

"Once people have something on each other, and revealing each other's secrets will only bring huge trouble to themselves or their families, then—even in death, they will take the secret to their graves."

……

Uncle Fei's words plunged Meng Mengda into an icy abyss. For the first time, he deeply felt that although Uncle Fei did not know martial arts and had no magical abilities other than beast taming, his strength was on a completely different level from his own.

It is an indomitable spirit that grows from the worst aspects of the world, a supreme control over human nature after seeing through all the coldness and indifference of the mortal world.

"...I have no more questions, General Jing, let's begin." Finally, Meng Mengda resignedly closed his eyes.

"Haha, this kid thought you were going to kill him, Master." Jing Zheng's voice rang in Meng Mengda's ears.

"What?" Meng Mengda had just opened his eyes when Jing Zheng twisted his arm hard and dragged him into the dark tunnel without explanation—the very route Meng Mengda had come from.

"Wait, General Jing, you're not going to kill me? Where are you taking me?!"

"He will take you to a secret room."

Uncle Fei's voice rang out behind Meng Mengda.
"If Uncle is not mistaken, there must be someone from Sichen Mansion waiting for you outside. After Jingzheng meets with them on your behalf, Uncle will naturally take you away."

“Mengda, I just taught you that it’s not only the dead who can keep secrets.”

As they were talking, Uncle Fei had already walked up to Meng Mengda.

“Mengda, you still have one last question for me, right? This question is like a seed that started to grow wildly after you came here, and now it has already broken through the soil and grown tall. Am I right? Why don’t you dare to ask? Ask it, Uncle will give you this chance.”

Meng Mengda was startled again. Uncle Fei had completely guessed what he was thinking—he did have a question he wanted to ask but had never dared to—subconsciously, he felt that as long as he didn't ask that question, he still had a sliver of a chance to live. And now, Uncle Fei had taken the initiative to expose his cowardice.

"I……"

Meng Mengda lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed of his subconscious timidity. Finally, he looked up and met Uncle Fei's gaze.

"Uncle Fei, what is your real name?"

"Hahaha! You really did ask, kid!"

Uncle Fei nodded in satisfaction. Of course he knew what Meng Mengda was afraid of. For top-level beast tamers who used their real names as "contracts," knowing their real names would only result in two outcomes: either death or becoming a tamed beast.

"Good lad, did you hear me clearly—"

Uncle Fei smiled and patted Meng Mengda on the shoulder with his left hand.

"Fei Shu".

“Special name, that is my real name.”

"Uncle, I've tamed countless beasts in my life, but I've never tried 'taming a human.' Mengda, do you think it's possible for me to make you my first test subject?"

(End of this chapter)