The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Oh?" Jiang Chen raised his eyelids and glanced at him. "I don't know you have such a despicable soldier under my command? You're a disgrace to the Fourth Army!"

Huang Shenglang: ○|￣|＿

It's all over, it's all over now!

What to do now that your flattery has backfired?

Soldiers disguised as bandits committing arson, murder, and robbery are serious crimes. He was a squad leader with shift records and took the lion's share of the loot...

"General, please have mercy! I... I was forced into this situation! The order came from above, and military orders are absolute; who would dare disobey?" He could only grit his teeth and shift the blame upwards, trying to find a glimmer of hope.

If the fluffy ball were present, it would have seen the dazzling halo suddenly explode and envelop Jiang Chen.

The protagonist's halo has a powerful effect on reducing stupidity.

“Hmm, the saying ‘military orders are like mountains and they must be obeyed’ seems to make some sense.” Jiang Chen played with the ring on his hand, glanced at the young man kneeling on the ground, and smiled. “Someone, tie Huang Shenglang to the back of my horse. If he can run back to Yongning City with me, he will be spared from being shot.”

Huang Shenglang was terrified and kept praying that he wouldn't be taken away to be executed.

Upon hearing that the commander-in-chief had shown him exceptional mercy, he quickly kowtowed, "Thank you for your mercy, Commander-in-chief! Commander-in-chief, I know I was wrong, and I will definitely make amends in the future!"

Upon seeing this, the personal guards who had come with Xiao Jiangchen exchanged glances and revealed meaningful smiles.

Did they really think that the commander-in-chief's decision not to execute him on the spot was an act of mercy?

This guy clearly feels it's a great disgrace that such a scoundrel once served under him, and he wants him to wish he were dead!

Dragging along on a fine steed carefully selected and trained by the commander-in-chief, he'd be lucky to escape with his life. He might even be a dried-up corpse before reaching Yongning City...

Chapter 8 Who Has the Better Chance of Winning?

"His personality is somewhat similar to that of Daoist Lingquan?" Jiang Chen rode his horse slowly, glancing back at Huang Shenglang, whose hands were bound and who was following behind the horse, and frowned slightly. "There's not much about it in the plot. Could it be that the main male lead, Daoist Lingquan, is also such a glib-tongued guy?"

He imagined the image of a spineless and glib Taoist priest and found it quite disgusting.

Hopefully, the similarity between the two is just wishful thinking on Zhang Xiyue's part. Otherwise, if the future alliance is similar to Huang Shenglang's, it would be better to go it alone!

To our pleasant surprise, we found the second male lead ahead of schedule, so overall the progress isn't too slow.

As for the male lead, let's first spread the word about Zhang Xiyue and slowly search for him. Lingquan Daoren certainly won't collude with demons, so there's no need to worry about him jumping out and ruining our plans...

"General Xiao, you are a truly exceptional official, one in a million!"

"Thank you, General, for helping the people get justice. Those damned scourges have finally gotten their comeuppance!"

"The commander-in-chief is wise and mighty; the villagers of Forty Mile Slope are deeply grateful..."

…………

When they left Yunshao City, the locals crowded both sides of the road to see them off with gratitude.

Jiang Chen's trial process didn't take more than a few days, but it dragged on for almost half a month before he left, mainly because there was too much mess to clean up after the rectification of officialdom.

He originally planned to make the money-loving cat happy, but after conducting on-site investigations, he found that the people in the impoverished counties were living a really tough life!

Every year there were famines and disaster relief funds were embezzled. They were also ravaged by fake bandits. Some villages were even reduced to dilapidated empty houses and became ghost villages.

He personally went to Forty Mile Slope, where he saw only the marks of fire, and many houses were no longer habitable. Every household was so poor that you could see their entire possessions at a glance; some impoverished families didn't even have a decent pot.

Even so, the simple farmers never thought of giving up their land and hometown, and still wanted to live and thrive on this land.

So after confiscating the corrupt officials, Jiang Chen paid some money out of his own pocket.

First, the disaster relief funds were replenished and distributed. Then, houses were repaired in the affected villages, and cattle, sheep, and mules were bought and distributed to the people, so that at least they could cultivate the land properly in the spring.

With Zhang Xiyue, that scourge, gone from Forty Mile Slope, it seems the famine will cease.

With tax reductions and exemptions and encouragement of agriculture, it is believed that Yunshao City will gradually recover and no longer be so impoverished in a few years.

"General, the new county magistrate will be taking office soon. Look at all these people lining the streets to see him off. It's all worth it for all our hard work over the past two weeks. Severely punishing those corrupt officials and displaying their names on the city wall will serve as a warning to others." Deputy Guo was in a good mood.

Since the world was at peace and there was no need for wars to break out, the warlord had become obsessed with taking concubines and hadn't done anything worthwhile for a long time.

He thought the infamous warlord would become decadent and dissolute, but he never expected that when he did act, he would be even more meticulous and strategic than when he did things during the war.

Following a master like this will lead to a better future!

"Yes, once the nine-day count is over and spring arrives, the seeds can be planted in the fields, and there will be even more hope." Jiang Chen glanced back at the only remaining troublemaker who had not yet been brought to justice, and seeing that they were about to leave the city gate, he spurred his horse and laughed, "Let's head back home and come back in a few months to see how Yun Shao City is being managed!"

Huang Shenglang was tied to the back of the horse with a rope. Thanks to Xiao Jiangchen, he was spared from having his vegetable leaves smashed as he passed through the long street. However, a white plaque with black characters was hanging upside down on his back, clearly stating how he had committed arson, murder, and robbery. Along the way, he was pointed at and insulted by many people, who cursed his ancestors for eight generations.

Compared to his accomplices who were executed, he was ashamed but at least saved his life. He was secretly glad that he kept his head down even lower so that he wouldn't be recognized and remembered and would be embarrassed to face people in the future. He didn't expect the horse team to suddenly speed up.

"Thump!" Without any warning, Huang Shenglang was dragged by the horse and thrown to the ground, immediately raising a cloud of yellow smoke.

The crowd that had come to see the commander off along the street finally felt relieved and burst into laughter, clapping and praising Commander Xiao for his good punishment!

Jiang Chen deliberately sped up, dragging the second male lead through a series of tumbles and bumps, leaving him covered in dust and looking utterly disheveled. But after waiting for a while, he still didn't hear the main system issue a task instructing him to go easy on him.

"Strange, does everything in this mission world revolve around the female lead, and the second male lead is being harassed without any concern?" He wondered, glancing at the script, which remained unchanged and showed no signs of updating.

We can't just abandon the scriptwriting team after they're punished and stop caring about the scripts altogether, can we?

Will the world's will simply follow the natural course of events, or will it be distorted into the original script no matter what?

Jiang Chen couldn't figure it out, so he wanted to conduct an experiment.

The distance between Yunshao City and Yongning City is neither too close nor too far. In order not to torture Huang Shenglang to death, Jiang Chen stopped frequently along the way, slowing down whenever he felt he was about to collapse, so as not to cause any unforeseen complications when the protagonist's halo suddenly kicked in.

As for Zhang Xiyue, she had already decided to wait until Xiao Jiangchen returned to the city and didn't cause any trouble. In addition, with the fluffy ball guarding the inside and the soul weapon patrolling the outside, they didn't even catch a mouse for half a month.

"Ah~ When will Xiao Jiangchen come back? I'm starving!" Her small body lay on the bed, her tiny face even thinner than before.

For the past two weeks, she has been either sleeping or spacing out, and she is extremely bored.

However, Zhang Xiyue had already come up with a solution—didn't Xiao Jiangchen go crazy and say he loved her to the point of being unable to extricate himself? Then she would pretend to be docile and stay by his side, and then find an excuse to ask for a few more maids to serve her.

They specifically chose young girls with delicate skin and little strength to keep by their side.

Once Xiao Jiangchen is calmed down, he will insist on going out for a stroll. Then there will be a chance to buy medicine to drug the maid next to him, capture her and eat her!

She estimated that she would need to eat at least a hundred people to return to her peak condition, but if she could accumulate the energy of a dozen or so people, she could break free from Xiao Jiangchen's control and be completely free!

"Xiao Jiangchen, come back soon!" Zhang Xiyue lay on the bed with a sinister smile on her lips. "I really can't wait any longer."

The little dumpling heard her talking to herself and stood on top of the bunk bed looking down at her. Her chubby little face had a serious expression. "She's definitely up to no good again!"

Previously, my host had to dismiss all eighteen concubines, and now he's all alone without even a warm bed for anyone.

What? What else do you want to do?

He! Tui!

You wicked creature, who could easily survive on food but instead spends your days plotting cannibalism, should be locked up in the Sahara Desert, where there's nothing but sand and dirt to eat!

"Achoo!" Zhang Xiyue suddenly sneezed, grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself up tightly, muttering in dissatisfaction, "My energy is getting less and less, and I don't even have enough to keep warm."

Xiao Jiangchen, you'd better come back obediently and let me eat my fill, otherwise even if it damages my soul again, I will find a way to reincarnate again and find another way out.

"By then, hmph! Your end will be terrible!"

The little white kitten rolled its eyes and stuck out its pink little tongue.

The bastard protagonist who can escape the punishment of my host hasn't been born yet. You're just waiting to be beaten to a pulp!

"General, we're almost at Yongning City." Guo, the adjutant, caught up with Xiao Jiangchen, who had slowed down at the front of the horse. He glanced at Huang Shenglang, who was tied to the back of the horse, panting and covered in wounds, and lowered his voice to ask, "The batch of fake bandits you ordered to be transported that weren't executed has arrived in the city. Where are they going to be imprisoned?"

Without hesitation, Jiang Chen replied, "Tell them to wait. They'll all be sent to my residence and locked up in the dungeon later."

Lieutenant Guo: (⊙_⊙)?

What is the commander doing?

They mysteriously arranged for a group of death row inmates to be secretly transported back to Yongning City and imprisoned in the Marshal's Mansion.

Before leaving, the warlord dismissed all eighteen concubines overnight. Everyone thought he would take new concubines and bring them into the mansion, but this is what he did? He brought a bunch of death row inmates?

Could it be...? Recalling certain rumors from the wartime period, Deputy Guo's heart pounded with apprehension—could the commander-in-chief find taking concubines and hunting boring and want to try something new, like torture to extract confessions from prisoners for his own amusement?

"Then..." he lowered his voice even further, "shouldn't Huang Shenglang also..."

Generals who have led troops always value the honor of their troops, especially someone like Commander Xiao who would not tolerate anyone tarnishing his military achievements. How could he possibly forgive Huang Shenglang?

However, the constant stopping and starting along the way clearly showed that the commander-in-chief had kept the other party teetering on the brink of collapse.

Like a cat toying with a mouse, it's time to bring it to a close after playing all this way, right?

"Huang Shenglang can't die yet. I have a use for him." Jiang Chen, wearing a black leather glove, held the reins with his right hand and beckoned the other party to come closer with his left.

After muttering a few words under his breath, Lieutenant Guo obeyed the order, cracked his whip, and rode off on horseback.

[Mission: Within one hour, provide the heroine Zhang Xiyue with at least one living person to eat. Reward: One-time use A-grade item x1]

Just as I entered the city gate, a mission notification sounded.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. "So straightforward and blatant, making no attempt to hide it, letting the best supporting actor help the female lead eat people? I need to quickly find Xiao Bai to tattle on this!"

"What the hell? Is it really okay to issue a task so blatantly?" At the same time, the fluffy ball perked up, scratched its ear with its hind paw, and then reported the task with its claws.

Is this blatant and outrageous act of breaking the law and violating discipline a sign of the relevant departments' distorted humanity or moral decay?

Let's see how the main system reviews it!

The two-hour time limit was just enough for Jiang Chen to hurry back to the Marshal's Mansion and make some preparations in advance.

"Host, did you bring back bandits, meow?" The little white cat pounced over as soon as it heard the noise, its fluffy little head burying its head in his chest and nuzzling him. "After the mission was issued, I felt it was unreasonable, so I reported it."

The main system replied that the task assignment was applicable to the scenario within the script and could not be cancelled.

"Damn, they rejected it outright. Now I can only use fake bandits as a temporary solution. Hopefully, Zhang Xiyue won't regain her strength too quickly after eating people, otherwise it'll be difficult to keep her under control!"

They actually rejected it?

Jiang Chen stroked the cat and thought for a moment. In the plot, Xiao Jiang Chen was so infatuated with Zhang Xi Yue that he wanted to give her the whole world and even offer up his eighteen concubines for her to devour.

So, occasionally giving someone a treat is reasonable given the character's established persona, so...

"Not only did I bring back the fake bandits," he said with a wicked grin, pointing towards the side yard and whispering to the large, furry ear, "I also brought back Huang Shenglang. Tell me... when the female lead's halo clashes with the second male lead's halo, who has a better chance of winning?"

Fluffy dumpling: (⊙x⊙;)

Huh? Did the host really make them run into each other right now?

Will Zhang Xiyue, who is still a child, and Huang Shenglang, who is an adult, still be able to spark a romance?

In the side courtyard, soldiers, following the commander's orders, had already brought Huang Shenglang, who was covered in dirt, injured, and half-dead, into an empty room. His hands and feet were tightly bound; a black cloth bag was placed over his head; and to prevent him from shouting, a tattered cloth was stuffed into his mouth.