Chapter Eleven Unreliable

  Wu Fan has always regarded a sentence from the "Records of the Grand Historian" as a motto, because what Mr. Sima wrote is really too incisive! Incisive to the point where ancient, modern, Chinese, foreign, present, and future, as long as it's human, can be summed up in one sentence! The sentence is called "The world is full of people seeking profit, the world is full of people letting go for profit". It has many interpretations, but the simplest one is "human nature seeks profit"

  Where there is profit, there will be people. Where there are sufficient profits, there will be many people.

  So...

  Deputy commander Zhao Xi intended to promote Wu Fan as the hundred household under the jurisdiction of Luoyang thousand households, which touched the interests of others, and Wu Fan was also given a cold shoulder.

  "Hmmph!"

  A cold snort undoubtedly made the originally warm and harmonious dinner party turn into a scene where you could hear a pin drop, with an eerie atmosphere.

  The man with a cold hum was named Wu Yuanhao, his body was eight feet long, with broad shoulders and waist, wide forehead and mouth, and a full beard. He was indeed as majestic and heroic as his name suggested, truly extraordinary. He was one of the two commanders of the Eagle Wing Guard in Luoyang City, second only to the chief and deputy chiefs of the thousand households, overseeing four hundred households.

  Qianhu Wu Zhao, from a renowned family, entered the dark institution of Yingyang Wei only to hone his mental state through martial arts training. He rarely interfered with the affairs of Qianhu Suo, only intervening when exceptional pugilists caused trouble. Due to Wu Zhao's lack of interest in managing Qianhu Suo and his prior declaration of not intending to hold the position for long, a three-way split emerged within the organization. The deputy commander and two commanders-in-chief engaged in mutual competition and sabotage, reveling in the chaos. They all coveted the position of Qianhu, and were qualified to vie for it...

  Wu Yuanhao was normally a decent person, not to mention sharing the same joys and sorrows with his subordinates, but also being clear about rewards and punishments, and understanding the reasoning behind things. At this moment, his behavior is even more thought-provoking. Of course, this can't be blamed on him, who let Deputy Commander Zhao Xi and Wu Fan now openly try to take back from his mouth the meat that was almost swallowed?

  There are ten hundred households under the jurisdiction of Qianhu Su, with a total of over 2,300 people. The ten hundred households are further divided into three Youji Suos and seven Jiasu Suos. Another commander who did not attend today is an old-timer from the Eagle Guard, in charge of the three Youji Suos for over a decade, deeply entrenched and difficult to move. As for the seven Jiasu Suos, four belong to Commander Wu Yanhao, and three belong to Deputy Qianhu Zhao Xi. Both are newcomers, with unstable foundations, and relatively more ruthless.

  It just so happens that the hundred households where Wu Fan is located are one of the four under Wu Yuanhao's management! This guy's object of loyalty is not even his own superior, but rather Zhao Xi, the deputy thousand household who is at odds with his superior. No matter how good a person Wu Yuanhao is, he can't control everyone to this extent! Giving Wu Fan a stern look is already considered lenient; not coming forward and directly killing Wu Fan is already considered extreme self-restraint!

  A deputy commander and two commanders-in-chief all knew that if they wanted to seize the position of commander, the first thing they needed was the power of their subordinates. Judging from the current situation, Wu Yuanhao and another commander were evenly matched, while Deputy Commander Zhao Xi was at a disadvantage. It just so happened that Wu Yuanhao had a small traitor named Wu Fan who had made contributions under his command, and Zhao Xi thought this was an opportunity to strengthen his own power while weakening his opponent's. This was a heaven-sent opportunity. Therefore, there was today's scene, first probing the situation to see how things would go. If Wu Yuanhao turned against him on the spot, Zhao Xi wouldn't think it was a big deal, and he could use Wu Yuanhao to suppress his subordinates who had made contributions, ruining their reputation. If Wu Yuanhao yielded one step, that would be even better, and he could swallow up a hundred households under his command, gaining practical benefits.

  In short, Deputy Commander Zhao Xi has gained the upper hand and temporarily taken control of the situation.

  Wu Yuanhao's cold snort made Deputy Commander Zhao Xi's eyes narrow instantly, and also cooled down Wu Fan's originally good mood. Being too smug and arrogant could be fatal.

  Standing still, Wu Fan was neither sitting nor standing, and he felt extremely awkward.

  "Wu Zhihui, you can't treat a meritorious minister like this! " Zhao Xi turned his eyes and said with a smile: "This clansman of yours is really something! He beheaded Chen Yu, who colluded with the Maitreya Sect's evil people, and eliminated a major disaster for my Luoyang Qianhu. Now he has discovered the lair of the Maitreya Sect's evil people and led the brothers of the Qianhu to capture those rebellious traitors! It can be said that... his merits are outstanding!"

  Wu Yuanhao's mouth corners slightly twitched, and the dense beard on his face also trembled with it. However, he didn't speak, just silently staring at Zhao Xi, staring at Wu Fan.

  The game of the big shots is not something that small fries like Wu Fan can participate in. At least, Wu Fan now has a deep sense of powerlessness, and the taste of waiting for fate's judgment is really unbearable. It wasn't until now that he sorted out all the events and finally figured out some key issues, and his heart was cursing heaven and earth. He was not only scolding Wu Yuanhao, but also scolding Zhao Xi.

  It's enough to scold in my heart, Wu Fan also secretly warned himself that the Eagle Guard he was in wasn't a good place to begin with, and the people inside weren't good birds either. Just because I'm a bad person doesn't mean others aren't? In comparison, I'm still just a small-time villain, while they've been cultivating for many years and are almost immortals! One must think thrice before acting, and can no longer be self-righteous.

  The standoff lasted for a long time, until the entire noisy tavern fell silent, before a turning point finally appeared.

  Deputy Commander Zhao Xi gave Wu Fan a smile, and then gave Wu Yuanhao a provocative look. He stood up, clasped his fists, and laughed loudly: "Brothers, eat well and drink well! All the silver money will be counted on someone's head! Someone had a few more cups and couldn't hold their liquor, so they're taking their leave first! Sorry! Sorry! Another day, I'll definitely host another banquet to treat everyone!"

  "Ga ba ba..."

  After Deputy Commander Zhao Xi pretended to walk away with a faint smile, Wu Fan noticed that Wu Yuanhao, who was very close to him, clenched his fists tightly, and his knuckles turned white.

  Closing his eyes to adjust his emotions, Wu Yanhao stood up and looked at Wu Fan with a gloomy face: "Good! Very good!"

  Is it good? Really good? Is it really good? It's just short of jumping up and biting me a couple of times!

  Wu Fan's heart is one way, and on the surface it's another way.

  When Wu Yuanhao spoke, Wu Fan hastily became flustered and anxious, bowing his head and clasping his fists together in a cleverly intimidating manner.

  With the entire thousand households, more than two thousand eagles soaring and guarding, Wu Fan was still the most important contributor to this great victory. Although he had a raging fire in his heart, Wu Yanhao couldn't vent it out, so he stormed off.

  After Wu Yuanhao left, Wu Fan let out a long sigh. On this sweltering summer day in July, his back was drenched with cold sweat, almost soaking through the Flying Eagle uniform.

  Eat, definitely can't eat anymore. Wu Fan announced his guilt to the other hundred households and directly went downstairs. He shamelessly opened his mouth and wanted to pack a roasted suckling pig to take away. Then he leaned on the smooth wooden counter with a frown, deep in thought. He wouldn't be so naive as to think that Wu Yuanhao's forgiveness this time meant he would be forgiven forever. Moreover... Wu Fan felt that his newly hugged thigh was actually a useless thing, unreliable.

  After thinking back and forth, Wu Fan still couldn't think of a useful way to deal with the situation, so he decided to go home first, take out all the rewards exchanged from the system space, and improve his martial arts before doing anything else. After all, only those who have value are worthy of living.

  "Sir! Your roasted suckling pig is ready!"

  The shopkeeper handed over the roasted suckling pig that had been deboned and wrapped in oil paper and hemp rope.

  Like Wu Fan, this shopkeeper must have been frightened today. Who knows what kind of people these eagle and hawk-like men are? If you're not careful, they'll put a counter-revolutionary label on your head, and in no time, you'll be executed, and your whole family will be arrested... Serving them tea and water, serving meals, one must be extremely cautious!

  "Good!"

  Wu Fan took five paper-wrapped roasted suckling pigs and walked out several steps before realizing he was missing something, turned back to grab a jar of aged wine from the counter and said magnanimously, "Put it all on Zhao Qianhu's tab!"

  Turn around and leave with elegance.

  Only leaving behind a helpless shopkeeper's desolate figure and some unspoken words.

  ……

  P.S: Collect and recommend votes are welcome.