Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The hearts of those people of the Secret Cabinet, who saw Zhang Dongyun’s gaze, felt heavy.

It was as though he could see what they were thinking with one glance.

They had never felt so terrified in front of their cabinet lord before.

“You have misunderstood, Senior. We, the Mingguang Guards, are acting under the orders of our superiors,” the leader said. “We are all just doing our mission. How can we know any true hidden secrets? We would have been killed if we knew anything.”

The old man in black, whom Zhang Dongyun had incarnated into, smiled slightly without saying a word.

The other party felt that his throat was dry and swallowed. “We were mainly ordered to hunt down the surviving members of the Chen clan. On the way, we collected some pieces of information regarding Longbei County and had some gains. Senior, please have a look.”

He took out a small cloth bag from his cuff and opened it.

Inside were a few letters.

Zhang Dongyun took them and put them away first. He was not in a hurry to read them right away.

“I am more interested in verbal information from you.”

These few Mingguang Guards all looked bitter.

They still wanted to explain themselves, but the old man in black raised his hand, and black mist appeared to enshroud them.

None of them could see their partners in the black mist, and only they remained. They could not even see their fingers.

Zhang Dongyun’s voice came in the darkness. “I don’t care what rules the Secret Cabinet has about confidentiality. The rule here is that only one of you can live.”

Upon hearing that, the Mingguang Guards were pale from shock.

They could not hear anyone respond to their shouts.

It seemed as though they were the only ones in the black mist.

They were separated.

Having their vision stripped away, they could only hear sounds, so clear that they seemed to come from the bottom of their hearts.

“Whoever gives me the most satisfying answer will live,” Zhang Dongyun said calmly. “You only have fifteen minutes.”

The people in the black mist were bewildered and fell silent for a moment.

Zhang Dongyun did not care about this, as he believed the silence would soon be broken.

The three Chen clan members outside the black mist had complex looks.

The young teenager was full of excitement as he looked at the black mist. He was brimming with the pleasure of taking revenge.

Even though he was not the one disposing of these Mingguang Guards, he still felt happy.

He finally felt relieved after the deaths and injuries of so many clan members and loved ones, as well as the indignation of having to be on the run arduously for so long.

The other two middle-aged men had more complicated feelings.

They were certainly glad that they were saved.

However, the mysteries of Chang’an Fortress and the power of the old man in black made them apprehensive.

They were now in a much better situation than being hunted down, but their future was full of unknowns.

After pondering for a long while, a middle-aged man said, “Senior, is there anything we can do to repay the favor of sheltering us?”

“What do you guys think you can do?” Zhang Dongyun asked casually.

The man was dumbfounded by his question.

The slightly older Chen clan member at the side said, “The three of us are meager and are indeed not very useful. May Senior allow us to find other clan members to join Chang’an Fortress as well?”

His two fellow clan members looked at him.

This man’s tone remained calm. “We have received the sheltering of Chang’an Fortress, and we owe it to the lord of this place and Senior. We will definitely repay the favor.

“Although the Chen clan is suffering from a calamity at the moment, its foundation is still there. I believe we can serve Chang’an Fortress well.”

“Those who abide by the rules can stay in Chang’an Fortress.” Zhang Dongyun’s tone was light.

The other party bowed. “I understand. Thank you, Chang’an Fortress Lord. Thank you, Senior.”

He said to the other two Chen clan members, “I’ll find the other clan members while you two stay behind here.”

The teenager replied, “I’ll go with you, Father.”

The other clan member patted his shoulder. “You stay here. I’ll go out of the fortress with your father and split up to find the others.”

The teenager still wanted to say something, but his father stopped him. “It’s settled then. Stay in the fortress. Remember not to cause any trouble and keep a low profile.”

“Yes…” Despite feeling unwilling, he still obeyed his father’s instructions.

The two middle-aged men bade farewell to Zhang Dongyun and then left the fortress.

“The fortress does not raise idle people. Either you do work in the fortress or farm outside. Decide on your own,” Zhang Dongyun said.

The teenager had an ugly expression, as he had never done either of these two things.

However, he did not dare to slack off in front of Zhang Dongyun. “I will go to the fields outside the fortress.”

The fortress was full of the Tang Dynasty troops. Although he knew that they were captives being punished to do work, he still felt uneasy being around this group of people.

Outside the fortress were the Cold Mountain Sect disciples, so the teenager had chosen to go outside.

When he reached the fields, he became the center of attention.

Even though all of them were more or less in the same situation, the Cold Mountain Sect disciples and the Tang Dynasty troops looked at the new teenager from the Chen clan with a sense of superiority springing up in them.

Zhang Dongyun, who was in the fortress, continued to question the Mingguang Guards.

Although not many Chen clan members might be taking refuge here, they were once a prestigious clan within Eastern Tang, with a long history and Martial Dao inheritance.

Even though the wind and rain left nothing but withered lotus, having some talents among the few of them to go on tasks would be beneficial for Chang’an Fortress, which was just starting out.

As for the fact that they were being suppressed by the Eastern Tang Dynasty…

Fortress Lord Zhang could not wait for the other party to come after Chang’an Fortress.

However, he still needed to know himself and his enemy.

The more intelligence and information he got, the more it would help Chang’an Fortress’s development in the future.

Zhang Dongyun squeezed some useful information out of these Mingguang Guards.

For example, they had come to Longbei County with a priority to hunt down the Chen clan members. Collecting local information in Longbei County was not an idle errand but likewise an important mission.

Their target was the Great Xuanwu General Du Kun, who was stationed there.

Du Kun was also close to the Crown Prince of Tang.

The Crown Prince of Tang had a rather deep enmity against the Secret Cabinet Lord.

In a way, this heir of the Eastern Tang Dynasty was also arch enemies with the night ruler.

Of course, this should be a method that the King of Tang was using to balance power in the royal court.

However, it always felt a bit odd to have two such people opposing each other for the balance of power.

After Zhang Dongyun understood this situation, his gossipy heart surfaced.

This Secret Cabinet Lord wouldn’t be an illegitimate son of the King of Tang, right?

The Eastern Tang Dynasty was currently in a mess.

They were battling foreign enemies at the borders and also having an internal conflict over the title of crown prince.

Zhang Dongyun lost his smile and shook his head.

He took out the bag and looked through the information that the Secret Cabinet had collected.

As he looked through it, he lost the smile on his face.

Du Kun’s army has wiped out most of the vagrants. Only the last part is left. His army is now besieging the vagrants, and the vagrants hardly have a chance of breaking out from it.

Have the vagrants almost been annihilated by the Great Xuanwu General Du Kun?