The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 28 A strange combination of circumstances
"Your subordinate, Wang Wen..."

Wang Wen bowed and walked into the hall, clasping his fists and bowing to all four of them: "Greetings to Lord Zhao, Lord Ji, Master Shou'an, Lord Cheng, and Lord Li!"

"Look, who's here!"

Zhao Zhiling, dressed in a dark blue uniform, stroked his beard with a genial expression as he smiled at Ji Liang, "Isn't that our fake Shao Qiuguan Wang?"

Taoist Ji Liang also smiled and stroked his beard, then nodded and looked at Wang Wen: "Congratulations, Lord Wang, on your promotion!"

The great monk Shou'an also chanted the Buddha's name and said with a smile, "It is true that heroes emerge from youth."

Cheng Xian and Li Heng both smiled and nodded at Wang Wen.

"A hard dish right at the start? This is a big deal!"

Wang Wen's heart was instantly on high alert, but his face showed an expression of ecstasy and disbelief: "Sir, I have little education, you can't bluff me! Has the certificate been issued so quickly?"

Zhao Zhiling's expression froze slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. With a mixture of anger and amusement, he turned to Cheng Xian and said, "Zhengyong, when you have time, let's talk about the ways of being an official. Don't let others laugh at us colleagues at the Yangzhou Astronomical Observatory being all ignorant warriors."

"Yes, my lord!"

Cheng Xian clasped his fists and replied respectfully, then turned to Wang Wen and said with a broad grin, "My boy, 'Fake Shao Qiu Guan' means acting as Shao Qiu Guan temporarily. We brothers will discuss the details later. Just know that since the Lord has recommended you to take over the position of Shao Qiu Guan temporarily, as long as you do your best to share the Lord's worries and serve the Lord, make more achievements and make fewer mistakes, and remove the word 'fake', then you will be a sure thing and will be just around the corner."

In front of everyone, he didn't say it too bluntly, but it was almost like grabbing Wang Wen's ear and saying to him: "Boy, don't look down on that word 'fake'. As long as you don't make any mistakes, removing that word is a sure thing!"

"Oh, it turns out to be fake..."

Wang Wen looked as if he had suddenly understood, "I thought it was true!"

The few words "innocent" and "speaking one's mind" almost made the five people in the hall lose their composure.

If this came from someone else, they would definitely think that person was implying something about them.

But coming from Wang Wen's mouth, they really couldn't be sure whether this idiot was pretending to be ignorant or was simply stupid.

"Alright, alright."

Cheng Xian patted the chair beside him in annoyance: "If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb."

Wang Wen looked at him with disappointment on his face, walked to his side dejectedly and sat down... Just like these people couldn't tell whether he was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid, he also couldn't tell whether Cheng Xian was purely cold-hearted but warm-hearted, or like Zhang Fei embroidering - rough but delicate.

He could only be sure that this guy was definitely not as rough as he looked.

Without going into too much detail, just the word "Da Wen" last night was enough to show that this guy was definitely a talented person with both literary and military talents.

After Wang Wen took his seat, Zhao Zhiling, who was in the hall, took a tactical drink of water to ease the awkward atmosphere. He then asked sternly, "What are your thoughts on the Temple Street incident last night?"

Wang Wen sat upright on the chair, secretly glancing at the five people in the hall with the corner of his eye. He felt relieved when he found that no one was looking at him secretly.

He is not afraid of bickering, he is just afraid that this group of people have already discussed everything and are just waiting to put him on the stage.

After a brief silence, Cheng Xian was the first to speak, clasping his fists. "Your Excellency, last night's battle in Temple Street was my negligence. If I had paid more attention to Erhu's plan and brought enough troops, perhaps I could have accomplished the goal in one fell swoop and captured these White Lotus sect villains... Please punish me, Your Excellency!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Heng, who was sitting opposite him, clasped his fists and said, "Your Excellency, yesterday, Lord Cheng was concerned about the safety of the government office. He was afraid that the traitors would lure the tiger away from the mountain and damage the reputation of our Astronomical Observatory, so he did not complete his mission. Please understand!"

The two generals bowed their heads and clasped their fists, not moving a muscle.

Zhao Zhiling in the hall just sipped his tea without making any comment.

Wang Wen observed the changing expressions of the crowd, pondered for a moment, and then spoke weakly, "Your Excellency, last night's fight can't be blamed on Lord Cheng's negligence. When we set our plan, the imaginary enemy was mainly fugitives from the Beggars' Sect, supplemented by remnants of the White Lotus Sect. We never expected that the White Lotus Sect villains would appear several times more numerous than the Beggars' Sect fugitives... This is very abnormal."

"Oh?"

As soon as Zhao Zhiling raised his eyes, everyone turned to look at him: "How is this abnormal?"

Wang Wen saw this and thought to himself, "Oh no! They're really coming for me!"

But the words had already been spoken, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "My Lord, it's normal for the Beggars' Sect to have so many fugitives. After all, they've lived in Yangzhou for a long time and are familiar with the area, so it's easy for them to hide. Moreover, given the Beggars' Sect's reputation and style of doing things, they've fallen into such a big mess over such a small matter. They will definitely not give up until they get revenge."

"Well, sir, I'm not saying that the Beggars' Sect's collusion with the White Lotus Sect is a small matter. I'm saying that in their eyes, this matter is not a big deal. After all, compared to the dirty deeds they do, colluding with a cult is as common as visiting neighbors, isn't it?"

During the first half of the sentence, everyone in the hall listened attentively and nodded continuously.

But when they heard the second half, they almost couldn't hold it in anymore and looked at him with very strange eyes.

It's already this late, and you haven't forgotten to put pressure on the Beggars' Sect?

To offend you is even more troublesome than to offend the devils in front of the King of Hell!

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Wang Wen asked, baffled and confident, "Am I wrong?"

He has an attitude of "If you think what I said is wrong, I won't say anything more."

"nothing."

Zhao Zhiling put down the tea bowl and said in a deep voice, "Erhu, continue."

"Yes, my lord!"

Wang Wen clasped his fists and continued, "But it's unreasonable for the White Lotus Sect to be so aggressive. They're not locals, so it's definitely not easy for them to hide in Yangzhou City. And the Beggars' Sect is like a clay Buddha crossing a river. It's obvious that it will be difficult for them to take care of them."

"Under such circumstances, instead of packing up and fleeing overnight, they stubbornly stayed in Yangzhou City despite our Astronomical Bureau's crackdown."

"You said it's fine if they stay, but is it really necessary to mobilize so many people to confront our Astronomical Observatory just for the Beggars' Sect?"

"With all that dirty money dealing, how can they have such a strong relationship?"

"And judging by their display last night, it didn't look like they were coming for me, Wang Wen, alone. What merit or ability do I have to deserve them sending so many people out to attack me?"

"In short, in short, the White Lotus Sect is doing something very wrong. They're either guilty of something or have something on their body!"

He analyzed it fiercely like a tiger and made a lot of assumptions. He didn't know whether others believed it or not, but he definitely believed it himself.

Correct!
This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me, Wang Lao Hu!

Those evil White Lotus Sect members must have other conspiracies!

Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking, there was a long silence in the hall, and everyone's brows were solemn.

"There's something, Erhu, you might not know yet."

After a long while, Zhao Zhiling spoke again slowly.

Wang Wen subconsciously clasped his fists and said, "What is it? Please enlighten me, sir."

Zhao Zhiling said in a deep voice, "We've already found out that the tiger demon in Nashan Village is related to the White Lotus Sect!"

'Nashan Village?'

Wang Wen was stunned for two or three seconds before he remembered the place name. Suddenly, he understood, and some questions that had been bothering him for a long time were answered.

"May I ask, sir, what exactly is this relationship you're talking about?"

Zhao Zhiling picked up the teacup and drank tea.

Cheng Xian turned his head and whispered to Wang Wen, "That tiger demon was raised by someone from the White Lotus Sect. Their purpose is still unknown, but we can only speculate that the tiger demon is very likely an important part of one of their plans!"

After hearing this, Wang Wen exclaimed inwardly, "What the hell?" He muttered, "Is this such a coincidence?"

No wonder the White Lotus Society sent people and ghosts to mess with him. If it were him, he would not be able to help but free up a hand to crush such a grasshopper-like thing to death when it kept jumping in front of him, right?
Taoist Ji Liang, who was standing in the upper right corner, took over the conversation. "It's not a coincidence. That tiger demon is the most ominous demon around Yangzhou City. I've always suspected that there was a human element behind the tiger demon."

"Man-made disaster?"

Wang Wen suddenly understood something and almost couldn't help turning his head to look at Zhao Zhiling in the hall... This guy's tactics were even more ruthless than he had imagined!

"We have reason to suspect..."

Zhao Zhiling spoke at the right moment, concluding: "The White Lotus Cult is carrying out an extremely important conspiracy in Yangzhou City, so important that they are willing to ambush and kill the entire staff of our Imperial Observatory to buy time!"

He raised his eyes and looked at Wang Wen: "The more this happens, the more we must not let them succeed. Even if they just want to celebrate their leader's birthday in Yangzhou City, we must not let them succeed!"

The other four people also turned their eyes to Wang Wen.

Wang Wen was immediately paralyzed, thinking, "You bastards are really here for me!"

Of course he knew what Zhao Zhiling meant...

But he had already clearly rejected Zhao Zhiling on this matter once.

This time... is certainly no exception.

"Snapped."

He slapped the armrest of the chair and broke it, then shouted angrily, "Then kill them!"

(End of this chapter)