Chapter 130: Mr. Li, do you take me for a fool?

"Li Yuanjing!"

"If you dare to deceive me, I, Zhang Yuzhu, will never let you go, even if I have to turn into a ten-thousand-year-old vengeful spirit, denied reincarnation for all eternity!!!"

As Li Yuanjing untied the rag from Zhang Yuzhu’s mouth, Zhang spat out two mouthfuls of blood and glared with wide, bloodshot eyes. He looked as if he wanted to devour Li Yuanjing's flesh and blood, letting out a low, beast-like growl.

This display startled Zhang Zhiji, who was standing nearby, causing him to instinctively recoil. Despite his high status, Zhang Zhiji had long viewed human life as mere grass, treating people as nothing more than mere beasts of burden. Yet, the raw, bone-deep ferocity radiating from Zhang Yuzhu genuinely unsettled him. He had never imagined that such savage malice could manifest with such chilling intensity.

Li Yuanjing, however, was not frightened. Instead, he felt a complex sigh rising within him. Take Zhang Yuzhu, for example: when Zhang Zhiji had threatened his children earlier, he had been desperate but largely unresponsive—he was, after all, beyond reach. But the moment Li Yuanjing "visualized" his daughters, describing them in vivid detail, Zhang Yuzhu’s psychological defenses collapsed instantly.

It seemed the American style of psychological warfare was quite effective after all. As the saying goes, "True affection cannot hold a heart, only strategy can."

"General Zhang, rest assured. I, Li Yuanjing, have studied the teachings of sages since childhood and walk the path of a gentleman. If I break my oath to you, I shall submit myself to whatever punishment you deem fit!" Seeing that Zhang Yuzhu was on the verge of breaking down after his outburst, Li Yuanjing quickly offered a solemn and righteous guarantee.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuzhu relaxed slightly. He looked into Li Yuanjing’s eyes with an incredibly complex expression and smiled bitterly. "When all is said and done, I, Zhang Yuzhu, was simply too foolish, falling into the trap of those people for no reason. Li Yuanjing, the man who incited my betrayal, he..."

"Whoosh!"

Just as Zhang Yuzhu reached the critical point, a cold, swift arrow whistled from behind Li Yuanjing, streaking toward them. Even with Li Yuanjing’s reflexes, how could he have reacted in time? He lunged to the side, shouting, "Protect the Young Duke!"

*Thwack!*

Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji reacted quickly and remained unharmed, but Zhang Yuzhu was struck, the arrow piercing clean through his neck. As his crimson blood began to stain the mud beneath him, his life rapidly ebbed away.

Yet, Zhang Yuzhu died with his eyes wide open, consumed by an intense, lingering resentment.

"Catch him!"

"The bastard is on the roof!!"

The surrounding Yi Ding cavalry guards finally reacted, scrambling to chase down the culprit who had fired the shot. Zhang Zhiji was so furious he was stomping his feet and cursing.

However, just as the cavalrymen were about to storm the roof, the assassin looked down at Li Yuanjing and the others and offered a sinister, twisted smile. Then, a large amount of black blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.

*Thump!*

In the next instant, he pitched forward and plummeted from the rooftop, his face already turning a deathly, charcoal black. He was dead beyond any doubt.

"Damn it all to hell!!!" Even Li Yuanjing couldn't help but curse. He felt like a fool. He should have anticipated this! Since they dared to incite Zhang Yuzhu to betray them, how could they not have left a contingency plan?

"Search!"

"Search everywhere! If you find any assassins, kill them on the spot!!!!"

Zhang Zhiji was now hysterical, his voice cracking with panic. Clearly, this assassin—wearing the uniform of their own soldiers—had truly terrified him, shattering the thin veneer of security he had managed to build.

Li Yuanjing quickly composed himself. Realizing there was no point in trying to capture a "big fish" now, he hurried to Zhang Zhiji’s side to comfort him. "Young Duke, it’s alright. It’s alright. That assassin was just a lapse in our vigilance. Such a thing will never happen again..."

"Ugh..." Seeing Li Yuanjing come to reassure him, Zhang Zhiji’s eyes reddened, and tears threatened to fall. He didn't dare say much, only gripped Li Yuanjing’s hand tightly.

Li Yuanjing said nothing more, simply gripping Zhang Zhiji’s hand back to offer some semblance of comfort. He had begun to understand, perhaps even empathize with, Zhang Zhiji. The transcendental experience brought by being born into nobility and wealth is something ordinary people might envy, but when the weight of responsibility and duty finally arrives, does someone like Zhang Zhiji—even if he lacks the capacity to bear it—have any other choice?

"Young Duke, this... this assassin, it seems, he was one of our own Yi Ding cavalrymen. It was Niu Fei from the Third Platoon..." A cavalryman who had gone to inspect the body returned, trembling as he reported the discovery.

"What?"

Zhang Zhiji was even more incensed, his nerves frayed to the breaking point. He glared at the soldier, shouting, "You’re telling me this assassin was one of my own Yi Ding cavalrymen? If you dare to lie to me, I will have you flayed alive!!!"

The cavalryman, terrified, knelt and kowtowed frantically. "Young Duke, please believe me! How would I dare deceive you on such a matter? If you don't believe me, you may have others inspect the body..."

As Zhang Zhiji continued to rage, Li Yuanjing hurriedly signaled him to stop and even pulled him back. Though Zhang Zhiji was beside himself with fury, he was now leaning heavily on Li Yuanjing. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Sir, why are you stopping me? This life is unbearable. Even the Yi Ding cavalry has traitors..."

Looking at the desperate, child-like Zhang Zhiji, Li Yuanjing couldn't help but sigh deeply. He finally understood the misery of honest officers in places like Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. When bad money drives out good, how can a single, small individual fight against an entire era and a collective of powerful interests? A grain of sand in an era, when it falls on an individual, becomes a mountain. After all, no one is Sun Wukong, jumping out of a rock; everyone has family and loved ones.

"Young Duke, I understand your pain, but we cannot act on impulse right now," Li Yuanjing said, eventually calming him down. "Although this assassin ruined our plans, he at least had a shred of conscience. Think about it: what if he had aimed his arrow at us instead?"

"This..." Hearing this, Zhang Zhiji calmed down slightly, a cold sweat breaking out across his body. If the assassin had indeed targeted him instead of Zhang Yuzhu... he didn't dare finish the thought.

He whispered to Li Yuanjing, "Sir, then... what should we do now?"

Li Yuanjing, now more composed, thought for a moment and said, "Young Duke, in my opinion, we should proceed as we promised General Zhang Yuzhu. You and I shall take his eldest and youngest daughters as concubines."

"Furthermore."

"The dead are of the utmost importance. Since Zhang Yuzhu and this assassin brother died during this conflict, we must report their 'meritorious service' to the imperial court, secure a pension for them, and give them a proper burial."

"What?"

Zhang Zhiji’s fragile composure shattered once again. He stared at Li Yuanjing with intense, violent hostility. "Mr. Li, have you lost your mind?"

"These two bastards!!! They betrayed my Zhang family! They betrayed me, Zhang Zhiji! They treated my family’s decades of kindness toward their generations as nothing?!!!"

"And you want me to report their merit to the court? To give them a proper burial?!"

"Mr. Li, are you treating me like a fool, an absolute idiot?!!!"