I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 545 Overturning the Chessboard, Encountering Nangong
Since he was already in the water, Xu Fengnian caught two fish in the river before coming up.

Old Huang helped him dry his clothes, and the three of them ate a meal of grilled fish before leaving the banks of the Luo River and continuing their journey to Beiliang.

The beauty that Xu Fengnian had mentioned, who could be ranked among the top three on the Rouge List, waited for a while. Seeing that Zhou Chengan really had no intention of coming, she put away her guqin and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, she couldn't help but glance at the fish swimming freely in the water.

This person has a pair of bright and intelligent eyes, a charming figure, and skin as white as snow. She can be described as a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, a beauty that could make a nation's beauty bloom. She is elegant and genuine, with delicate skin and a well-proportioned figure. No wonder Xu Fengnian thinks she can be ranked among the top three on the Rouge List.

In fact, she did later make it into the Li Yang Rouge Ranking, and even ranked second.

Rouge's assessment of her was—she's no less than Nangong!
She was one of the four beauties in the new rouge appraisal of the second year of Xiangfu.

—Chen Yu!
But if she had a choice, she would actually prefer to look ordinary, so that she could at least live freely.

With a silent sigh, Chen Yu boarded the carriage not far away.

Inside the carriage sat an old man whom she genuinely feared.

If it weren't for this old man, the current emperor of the Liyang Dynasty might not have been able to ascend the throne.

And this old man is none other than Yuan Benxi, the mastermind behind the scenes, whose mental calculations are unparalleled, whose first move is unmatched, and who is a great hermit living in the court. He is known as the Half-Inch Tongue!
Li Yishan, a strategist from Northern Liang, once used his chess skills to assess the merits and demerits of strategists across the land.

The top spot on the leaderboard belongs to Huang Longshi, a third-ranked scholar in the Spring and Autumn Period with lofty ambitions and extraordinary talent, who has seventy-six chess pieces.

The second-ranked player is Yuan Benxi, the Imperial Tutor of Liyang, who has always been hiding behind the Emperor, with 67 chess pieces.

Yuan Benxi and Xun Ping, the Fajia among the Thirteen Masters of Spring and Autumn, were originally fellow disciples of Qi Yanglong, the Grand Master of Shangyin Academy. Yuan Benxi considered Xun Ping both a close friend and a great enemy. In the end, he used someone else to cook and kill his fellow disciple Xun Ping.

Starting with the old emperor Zhao Li, he served as a strategist for the Liyang Dynasty. Before ascending the throne, the current emperor Zhao Dun told Yuan Benxi: "I am willing to be Mr. Yuan's puppet." It was only with his advice that he defeated the old Prince Jing'an Zhao Heng and seized the throne.

It can be said that without Yuan Benxi, there would be no Emperor Zhao Dun of Liyang.

It is said that the future of the Li Yang Dynasty's court over the next thirty years is largely in the hands of Yuan Benxi, and Zhang Julu's rise from a minor palace attendant to the Grand Secretary was also at Yuan's behest.

Back in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Xu family army swept across the six states and fought a decisive battle with the Western Chu at Xileibi.

After this battle, Yuan Benxi secretly plotted to make Xu Family Army withdraw. This withdrawal caused the old guard of Xu Family Army, who were originally determined to establish unparalleled achievements, to fade from view, resulting in the loss of a large number of captains and the collapse of morale.

Afterwards, Xu Xiao was summoned back to Tai'an City. Under the instruction of the old emperor Zhao Li of Liyang, Yuan Benxi, together with Han Shengxuan, Yang Taisui, Zhao Huangchao and others, plotted the White-Clad Case in the capital, causing Wu Su to die young due to illness.

In fact, Xu Fengnian's journey of three thousand miles through the martial world was also related to him.

It was he who persuaded Empress Zhao Zhi to take Xu Fengnian as her husband, thus ending the Northern Liang dynasty, which forced Xu Xiao to throw Xu Fengnian into the Jianghu (martial arts world) with no other choice.

Yuan Benxi was not only a man of amazing schemes, but also possessed considerable power.

As is widely known, in the Snow World, Li Yang Zhao Gou, Bei Liang Fu Shui Fang, and Bei Mang Zhu Wang are known as the three major intelligence organizations in the world.

The Zhao Gou organization of the Li Yang Dynasty was a secret, semi-military organization that Xu Xiao suggested to the emperor when he was conquering the martial world. It was specifically designed to target reckless martial artists who used force to disrupt the law.

Once someone gets into trouble, they will be relentlessly hunted down by the assassins of "Zhao Gou".

The person in power in Zhao Gou now is Yuan Benxi.

Most of the assassinations of Xu Fengnian along the way were actually carried out by Zhao Gou on his orders.

Seeing Chen Yu board the carriage alone, a hint of surprise flashed across Yuan Benxi's eyes, and he laughed, "I never thought there would actually be men in the world who don't love beautiful women."

Chen Yu lowered her head and hugged her zither, not daring to look him in the eye or speak.

suddenly,

There was a noise outside, but it quickly subsided.

Immediately afterwards, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a Taoist priest in a green robe appeared in Chen Yu and Yuan Benxi's line of sight.

Upon seeing Zhou Chengan's appearance, Chen Yu couldn't help but be taken aback.

Yuan Benxi laughed and said, "I knew it! How could there be a hero in this world who doesn't love a beautiful woman?"

It was clear that Yuan Benxi was not at all surprised by his appearance.

Zhou Cheng'an even felt that this guy had predicted his arrival.

This feeling wasn't pleasant, but Zhou Cheng'an didn't show it at all, saying calmly, "You only have half a tongue left, so you should talk less."

Having spent a lot of time with Xu Fengnian and Wen Hua, he has now become somewhat sarcastic and sharp-tongued.

This was probably the first time someone had spoken to him like this, and Yuan Benxi was taken aback for a moment before laughing and saying, "Young friend, what Beiliang can give you, Liyang Dynasty can also give you; what Beiliang cannot give you, Liyang Dynasty can still give you."

"Interesting. What can the Li Yang court offer me?" Zhou Cheng'an asked with some curiosity.

“If you can reach the Celestial Phenomenon within five years, His Majesty would not mind if Qingcheng Mountain became another Martial Emperor City,” Yuan Benxi said earnestly.

"Oh, so it seems you did your research before coming."

Zhou Cheng'an smiled, and before Yuan Benxi could speak, he nodded to himself and said, "Well, that's normal. Zhao Gou is one of the three major intelligence organizations in the world, even stronger than the Northern Liang Fushui Fang and the Northern Mang Spider Web. If you can't even find this much information, you, the head of intelligence, should die to atone for the Emperor's favor. However..."

"But what?" Yuan Benxi asked.

"However, do you think I am just Wang Xianzhi?"

Anyone could hear the disdain in Zhou Cheng'an's tone, as if in his eyes, Wang Xianzhi, who dominated the martial arts world, was nothing more than a nobody.

Even Chen Yu, who feared Yuan Benxi like a tiger, couldn't help but raise his head, his face full of surprise.

Yuan Benxi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Just Wang Xianzhi?"

Although Wang Xianzhi claimed to be the second best in the martial arts world, everyone in the martial arts world had to admit that he was an insurmountable mountain and the number one person in the world today.

But today, the young Taoist priest in front of me seems to have no interest in becoming the next Wang Xianzhi, and even looks down on Wang Xianzhi and disdains becoming Wang Xianzhi.

Yuan Benxi realized that he had underestimated the young Taoist priest in front of him.

However, deep down he felt that Zhou Chengan was too arrogant and truly didn't know his own limitations.

"if not?"

Zhou Cheng'an smiled: "Is Wang Xianzhi as fierce as me at my age?"

“In that case, I can only wish Daoist Zhou to surpass Wang Xianzhi soon.” Yuan Benxi smiled wryly, seemingly unwilling to say anything more to him: “Oh, right, I forgot to remind you, Daoist, that Qingcheng Mountain may not be peaceful in the future.”

"Are you threatening me?"

Yuan Benxi was not afraid of Zhou Cheng'an's intentions at all; since he dared to come, he had made thorough preparations.

"I am just stating the facts; Beiliang cannot guarantee peace in Qingcheng Mountain."

Zhou Chengan smiled.

"Just Qingcheng Mountain? It seems you Zhao Gou are nothing special. But you say Beiliang won't do, but the Liyang Dynasty will?"

Yuan Benxi's heart stirred, but he said aloud, "Of course, although Beiliang is strong, it is only a corner of my Liyang territory."

Zhou Chengan shook his head.

"No, no, no, whether Qingcheng Mountain is peaceful or not does not depend on you, but on me."

"If Qingcheng Mountain is not peaceful, whether it is Beiliang or your Liyang Dynasty, I will make sure that you are not at peace."

"I have come to see you today only to tell you something."

"Whether it's you or Huang Longshi, get the hell away from me!"

"I am not a pawn on your chessboard, nor do I wish to sit down and play chess with you."

"If you insist on dragging me into this mess, I, too, know a thing or two about martial arts. If I turn the tables on you, don't blame me for not warning you!"

Yuan Benxi still had a faint smile on his face.

At this point, his evaluation of Zhou Chengan dropped another notch.

In his view, Zhou Chengan was not only arrogant and ignorant, but also a brute; such a guy wouldn't live long.

Yuan Benxi shook his head inwardly, about to speak, when he saw Zhou Chengan turn and leave, disappearing from his sight in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yu never expected that anyone would dare to threaten Yuan Benxi, and even more unexpectedly, Yuan Benxi didn't react at all, letting the other party leave so nonchalantly. "Are you surprised?"

Yuan Benxi spoke softly, causing Chen Yu's heart to skip a beat. He quickly replied, "It was somewhat unexpected."

"He may be young, but we don't have enough men to take him down."

According to the information Zhao Goucha found, Zhou Chengan was a formidable figure capable of fighting against Xuan Yuan Dapan and Li Dangxin.

Although neither of them won, neither of them lost either, right?
Few people in the entire world could defeat Zhou Cheng'an, let alone the people he brought with him.

As for Qingcheng Mountain, he did send people there, but Qingcheng Mountain's current strength is somewhat beyond his imagination.

All those sent to Qingcheng Mountain vanished without a trace, like clay oxen sinking into the sea.

Yuan Benxi sighed silently and raised his voice slightly.

"No matter what method I use, I must know all the information about Zhou Cheng'an. As for Qingcheng Mountain... let's put it aside for now."

"Yes!"

Outside the carriage, someone responded.

And so, Zhao's men got back to work...

the other side.

As soon as Zhou Chengan returned, Xu Fengnian craned his neck to look behind him.

"And what about the girl?"

"Of course, I'm going home."

Upon hearing this, Xu Fengnian immediately said with a pained expression, "Such a beauty, and you didn't even manage to win her back? You couldn't possibly..."

“If you’re itching for a beating, keep babbling on,” Zhou Chengan interrupted.

Xu Fengnian shrank back and wisely shut his mouth.

But not long after, he started talking about it again.

"Cheng'an, do you know how much determination it took for your brother to give that girl to you?"

"Go ahead and rob it now, you still have time!" Zhou Chengan said irritably.

Xu Fengnian shook his head: "Forget it, that one is yours, I won't fight you for it, but the remaining three, I won't give them to you. My brother Xu Longxiang will get one, and the other two are mine, hahaha..."

Zhou Chengan ignored him and continued practicing his boxing.

In addition to practicing boxing, he also occasionally used tree branches as knives to practice knife skills during this period.

Old Huang clicked his tongue in disbelief.

It wasn't that Zhou Cheng'an's swordsmanship was bad, but in Lao Huang's opinion, whether Zhou Cheng'an practiced boxing or swordsmanship, he was wasting his time.

Practicing swordsmanship is the right path!
……

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the three of them came across a village that had been massacred.

Zhou Chengan said nothing and followed the remaining traces directly.

By the time he had slaughtered all the bandits and settled the women who had been abducted to the mountain stronghold, three days had passed.

I don't know what happened in between, but when I came back I saw Xu Fengnian fawning over a woman.

The woman possessed an exceptionally beautiful face, perfectly embodying the phrase "a beauty that could topple kingdoms," in no way inferior to Zhou Cheng'an's Pinian. Her beauty transcended that of men and women, seemingly eclipsing the very heavens and earth, drawing all who beheld her.

She was dressed in white, with two swords hanging at her waist, as if she were a celestial being reincarnated.

With just one glance, Zhou Chengan knew who she was.

After all, in the entire snowy world, only Minister Nangong possesses such unparalleled beauty.

Upon seeing Zhou Cheng'an appear, Minister Nangong, who had been sitting, immediately stood up.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhou Cheng'an gave a puzzled "hmm" and asked uncertainly, "You've come to spar with me?"

Minister Nangong nodded.

"Shall we have a match now?"

"Thank you!"

Nangong Pushe clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned his head slightly, and coldly said to Xu Fengnian, who was still trying to argue, "I am a man!"

She didn't say a word until Zhou Chengan returned.

Xu Fengnian was completely absorbed in Nangong Pushe's appearance, and kept talking incessantly without paying attention to whether the other person was male or female.

Upon suddenly hearing Minister Nangong say that he was a man, Xu Fengnian was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

"You...you're a man?!"

Immediately afterwards, Xu Fengnian cried out in heartbreak.

Nangong Pushe ignored him and directly drew his sword to attack Zhou Cheng'an.

At this moment, Xu Fengnian had no interest in watching the fight anymore. He turned to Lao Huang and said, "Lao Huang, do you think my young master will really be in trouble?"

"No way, young master!"

Old Huang looked alarmed, seemingly even more worried than Xu Fengnian himself.

"No, no, no..."

Xu Fengnian kept comforting himself. By the time he came to his senses, Zhou Chengan and Nangong Pushe had already finished their fight.

After exchanging about a hundred blows, Nangong Pushe was the first to sheathe his sword.

She happened to be passing by today and saw the old groom and the little beggar who were said to be with Zhou Cheng'an. So she had the idea of ​​fighting Zhou Cheng'an.

After all, the most prominent figure in the martial arts world right now is Zhou Cheng'an. It is said that he is not only exceptionally handsome, but also the number one among the younger generation.

On the snowy plain, he stepped into the Vajra Realm and severed the root of Xuanyuan Dapan's offspring with a single sword strike.

Afterwards, he also had a sparring match with the white-robed monk Li Dangxin.

It is said that even Wang Xianzhi of Wudi City was very interested in this young Taoist priest.

Since we've had the good fortune to meet, we should naturally have a fight.

As expected, she was no match for Zhou Chengan.

However, Nangong Pushe showed no emotion whatsoever. Her expression remained calm, as if she had not lost. She clasped her hands and said, "In this battle, I have been defeated!"

Zhou Chengan bowed and said modestly, "It was just luck."

"A loss is a loss, but I won't lose to you again next time." Nangong Pushe shook his head, a determined glint in his eyes, and clasped his hands in a fist salute once more: "Thank you for your guidance today, Daoist Zhou. Farewell!"

Seeing that Minister Nangong was about to leave, Xu Fengnian, for reasons unknown, suddenly called out, "Hey, you white-faced fox, would you be willing to send us back to Beiliang?"

Nangong Pushe glanced at him, his eyes filled with coldness.

If it weren't for the fact that he had just become Zhou Cheng'an's friend, Xu Fengnian would probably have gotten a beating today just for the nickname "White Fox Face".

Why should I send you back to Beiliang?

"why?"

Xu Fengnian chuckled and pointed at Zhou Chengan, saying, "Do you know why he's so strong? It's because he trained diligently at the Tingchao Pavilion in the armory for eighteen years."

Wuku Tingchao Pavilion?
Nangong Pushe's mind raced, and he asked, "Who are you?"

(End of this chapter)