"Lord Lei, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" A Captain hurriedly spoke, "Right now, at such a critical moment, our camp still needs Lord Gu to take charge of the overall situation..."
"No need," Lei Yun waved his hand directly and said, "I will arrange someone to take over. Small Banner Gu should take time off and rest for a while!"
"This..."
Both Captains looked rather grim and shot anxious glances at Gu Zhan, signaling him to fight for it a bit more.
Gu Zhan's expression was calm. He said slowly, "Lord Lei, you're really dead set on framing me, aren't you? You can't pretend not to know my situation. Suspending me is openly letting the Celestial Water Gang use me as their dog, letting them kill me off..."
Lei Yun was instantly enraged. He bellowed, "Nonsense, Gu Zhan, you still don't know to repent even now, and you dare to slander your superior. Do you really think I won't deal with you?"
"Then try it," Gu Zhan sneered coldly.
The two Captains turned pale; they hadn't expected Gu Zhan to tear things open so directly— this was essentially a public rupture with Lei Yun.
Lei Yun was beside himself with rage, his white hair almost standing on end, veins bulging from his neck as he shouted, "Arrogant brat, how dare you speak to your superior like this—are you trying to rebel?"
Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "As Embroidered Uniform Guard—an institution of the Government Office—and yet you're all terrified of a Martial World gang like the Celestial Water Gang? Saying you're incompetent is actually too polite."
Lei Yun slammed the table hard and roared, "Insolent pup! How dare you insult me—"
Just then,
Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door; a squad of Warriors from the Main Hospital of the Hundred Households Office walked in, accompanied by Chen Fei.
When Lei Yun saw this group,
He suddenly frowned, sensing something was wrong.
The leading Captain cupped his fists, "Greetings, Chief Banner Lei."
Lei Yun suppressed his anger, forcing a trace of a smile onto his face, and asked, "May I ask what brings you all here? Does Lord Hundred Households have any instructions?"
The Captain held up an official document and said, "By order of Lord Hundred Households, I'm to invite Small Banner Gu Zhan to the Main Hospital for a debriefing. Small Banner Gu Zhan pled for the people, showed no fear facing evildoers, personally struck down several criminals, and captured many more. Lord Hundred Households greatly admires Small Banner Gu's courage and bravery."
After speaking, the Captain turned to Gu Zhan and said, "Small Banner Gu, please come to the Main Hospital. First, Lord Hundred Households wishes to commend you in person. Second, Lord Hundred Households is furious over the Mud Bottle Lane incident and would like to discuss future strategies with you."
Gu Zhan took the document, glanced at Lei Yun, and then left with the group.
The others all bowed to Lei Yun before turning to leave.
In the hall,
Lei Yun's face went from green to white and back, and he growled, "Good! Very good, Gu Zhan! Daring to jump ranks and report—utterly ignoring me, lawless!"
The staff officer next to him sighed and said, "My lord, I'm afraid it'll be hard to explain things to the Celestial Water Gang now."
Lei Yun's face was ashen as he fell silent for a long while, then said, "Return all the money."
The staff officer asked in surprise, "All of it?"
"You dare to pocket the Celestial Water Gang's money?" Lei Yun said coldly.
The staff officer sighed softly, shaking his head slightly.
He'd opposed Lei Yun taking the money from the start, but Lei Yun insisted— and now they hadn't gotten the silver, and had openly fallen out with Gu Zhan, offending both sides.
...
Hundred Households Office, Main Hospital.
A Captain led Gu Zhan to an office and halted outside, cupping his fist, "Small Banner Gu, Lord Hundred Households awaits you inside."
Gu Zhan returned the gesture, "Thank you for your guidance."
With that, Gu Zhan pushed open the door and entered the office.
Stepping inside, he saw the room was filled with bookshelves loaded with books. By the window stood a desk, and behind it sat a dignified man, not yet thirty, with a square face and an imposing presence.
Gu Zhan knew this man was the absolute master of the South City Hundred Households Office—Hundred Households Gu Chuan.
As Embroidered Uniform Guard, Gu Zhan of course knew who Gu Chuan was. Even though they'd never met, he'd thoroughly researched the man beforehand.
There were eight Hundred Households in Linjiang Embroidered Uniform Guard: four in the Thousand Households Office, and one each in the east, west, south, and north of the city. Among them, Gu Chuan was the youngest by far—the others were all well past forty.
So in Linjiang Prefecture, Gu Chuan had a huge reputation, not just for his unfathomable cultivation, but for his extremely mysterious background.
When Gu Chuan had been appointed Hundred Households, he wasn't even thirty. He'd parachuted straight into the position; before that, there'd never been such a man in Linjiang Prefecture. With his age, there was no way he could've landed the post without serious connections—except no one had ever figured out what those were.
There were plenty of rumors about Gu Chuan,
After he took over, he quickly integrated the Hundred Households Office, and defeated several major gangs, cementing his authority.
"Greetings, Lord Hundred Households." Gu Zhan entered and bowed formally.
Gu Chuan wore a strange smile as he sized up Gu Zhan and said, "You're not that old, but your guts are impressive. Offending the Celestial Water Gang and wanting to drag me into the mess as a scapegoat, huh?"
Gu Zhan wasn't surprised by having his little scheme exposed. He knew himself—he wasn't that subtle, and someone of Gu Chuan's rank would see through him with ease.
He had used public pressure to corner the Prefecture Government, and made a fuss within the Hundred Households Office, making everything as public as possible. His only goal was to bring the pressure onto Gu Chuan himself.
But, truth be told, Gu Zhan wasn't that confident. Although he'd guessed at Gu Chuan's intentions, they'd never interacted before, so he couldn't be sure—maybe he'd guessed wrong. So, inwardly, he was apprehensive.
But hearing the half-joking tone in Gu Chuan's words, he knew he'd bet right—he wouldn't need to flee Linjiang City in disgrace after all.
"My lord," Gu Zhan cupped his fists, "I had no other choice. The Celestial Water Gang is powerful, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard dares not provoke them. If you don't back me, there's no one left who will."
Gu Chuan smiled slightly. "You're good with reverse psychology, aren't you? Not bad—young, but clever. And you're smart enough to read me right. Truth is, I'm also quite fed up with the Celestial Water Gang."
He paused, then continued, "Not just that—I'm dissatisfied with the Embroidered Uniform Guard as it is now. I want to change it."
Gu Zhan froze, unable to understand why Gu Chuan would tell him this.
"Please enlighten me, my lord."
Gu Chuan smiled and said, "On your way back to the city after killing Celestial Water Gang members, they sent Lei Yun three thousand taels of silver to buy your life. Lei Yun accepted it."
Gu Zhan frowned slightly, not quite following what Gu Chuan was getting at.
Then Gu Chuan smiled, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Want to take down that old fox Lei Yun?"