Outside Gusu City, Hanshan Temple, the midnight bell tolls to the traveler's boat!
For this ancient poem, which is almost recited by everyone, Xiao Yunlong and others are no exception. Now that they have arrived in Gusu City, they naturally would not miss the famous Hanshan Temple.
Under the leadership of Zhuge Wushuang, everyone visited for more than half a day, and did not return to the old mansion of the Zhuge family until it was completely dark.
Several cars were parked outside the old mansion, all of which were military vehicles, which surprised everyone.
"These military vehicles... they look like they are from the Eastern Domain Headquarters?" Zhuge Wushuang pondered and asked.
"They are indeed vehicles from the Eastern Domain Great Camp. Could it be that someone in the Zhuge family is serving in the Eastern Domain Great Camp?" Xiao Yunlong asked, raising his sword eyebrows.
Zhuge Wushuang shook his head and said, "I don't know about that. Perhaps it's someone from the Murong family."
"Why bother with so much? We'll know once we go in!" Tu Fu, who had a hot temper, snorted and strode in.
To everyone's surprise, all the direct descendants of the Zhuge family were gathered in the hall. Old Master Zhuge was not sitting in the main seat. Sitting there was a man in a Zhongshan suit, looking about forty years old.
All the direct descendants of the Zhuge family, including Old Master Zhuge Yaliang, had worried expressions on their faces, and the entire hall was filled with a suppressed atmosphere.
"Fifth Uncle, what you just said, is it true that Murong Bai of the Murong family has indeed become the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Domain Great Camp?" Zhuge Heng, sitting in the lower seat, asked through gritted teeth.
Zhuge Wushuang, who had just walked in, suddenly realized and whispered to Xiao Yunlong, "Master, I remember now. The person in the main seat is named Zhuge Yabei. He is also a direct descendant of the Zhuge family. It is said that he has been serving in the Eastern Domain Great Camp for a long time. I saw him once when I was very young!"
Xiao Yunlong nodded slightly without speaking. After looking at Zhuge Yabei in the main seat, he withdrew his gaze.
Frankly speaking, Zhuge Yabei exuded a slight aura of authority, but not much. This indicated that the other party should be a military officer in the Eastern Domain Great Camp, but his position should not be very high.
Xiao Yunlong secretly estimated that the other party's position in the Eastern Domain Great Camp should be between Captain and Commander!
Zhuge Yabei's face was also very grim. He said in a deep voice, "The appointment from above came down three days ago. Murong Bai officially serves as the Fifth Deputy Commander of the Eastern Domain Great Camp."
Saying this, Zhuge Yabei gave a wry smile and looked at the people of the Zhuge family, saying, "You have always been wondering why the Murong family would suddenly target our Zhuge family's river port depot?"
"Why?" Sun Limin immediately asked.
"That's because, in the Eastern Domain Great Camp, Murong Bai and I are both commanders, and we were originally in a competitive relationship. For many years, he and I have been competing, and neither of us is willing to admit defeat. Especially in the battle half a year ago, I led my troops to defeat Murong Bai's troops, making Murong Bai lose a lot of face in public. Now, by some stroke of luck, he has become the Deputy Commander and my superior, so he will naturally not let me off easily, and he will definitely not let our Zhuge family off!"
Zhuge Yabei said this with a wry smile and shook his head repeatedly, his face full of helplessness.
"I knew it. Although the Murong family is an old family, and our Zhuge family has only risen in recent years, even if our overall strength is not as good as the Murong family, it is not too far behind. Although there have been frictions between the two sides, there has never been a direct confrontation. It turns out that Murong Bai, that old dog, has become the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Domain, which is why the Murong family is so arrogant. Damn it, it's really damn it!"
Zhuge Yazhi gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his face full of indignant unwillingness. The other Zhuge family disciples also gritted their teeth.
Zhuge Yabei shook his head and sighed, "Second Brother, you don't need to be so angry and hurt yourself. It's my own fault. Originally, this Fifth Deputy Commander position was contested between Murong Bai and me. I lost to him, which is why our Zhuge family is in such a passive situation. It's my fault, and the responsibility lies mainly with me!"
Seeing this, Old Master Zhuge quickly waved his hand and said, "Fifth Brother, you don't need to blame yourself. The situation in the Eastern Domain Great Camp is very complicated. The Murong family's foundation is stronger than ours, and in terms of background and connections, they are much stronger than our Zhuge family. We all understand that you lost to him, and the urgent matter is to find a proper way to solve our Zhuge family's predicament!"
"It's difficult. This is almost a dead end. Unless we abandon our family business and flee Gusu City overnight, there is no proper solution to this matter!"
Zhuge Yabei shook his head and sighed repeatedly.
Old Master Zhuge's face also darkened when he heard this.
He originally thought that the reason the Murong family attacked the Zhuge family was because his grandson, Zhuge Liuyun, had injured the Murong family's direct grandson. Now, Old Master Zhuge realized that the real conflict actually came from the Eastern Domain Great Camp.
"Fifth Brother, you are a commander in the Eastern Domain Great Camp. You must have met some people over the years. Can you ask them to mediate?" Zhuge Yaliang asked after thinking for a moment.
Zhuge Yabei shook his head again and said with a wry smile, "Big Brother, you don't know, the situation in the Eastern Domain Great Camp is very complicated. Although I have met some people from above over the years, there is still a gap compared to the Murong family. For example, Murong Bai is on good terms with the Grand Commander, and the Grand Commander holds a very important position in the entire Eastern Domain Great Camp. With this alone, it is difficult to shake him."
Xiao Yunlong, who was in the corner of the hall, frowned to himself upon hearing this. Being sensitive, he immediately heard something wrong from the other party's words.
In the entire Eastern Domain Great Camp, the power of the Eastern Domain King was undoubtedly the highest. Zhuge Yabei, as a commander, was not a small official, and this rank allowed him to directly meet the Eastern Domain King and ask for help.
And given the Eastern Domain King's personality, there was no reason for him to stand by and do nothing. However, Zhuge Yabei did not mention it at all, which was somewhat unusual. It should not be like this.
Of course, although Xiao Yunlong was confused, he still did not speak.
Just then, Zhuge Heng suddenly said, "Fifth Uncle, in fact, our Zhuge family is not without a solution. Although our Zhuge family has conflicts with the Murong family, the subsequent events were all caused by this brat surnamed Xiao. He also killed the two elders of the Murong family. As long as we capture him and send him to the Murong family to apologize, I believe the Murong family..."
"Shut up!" Old Master Murong interrupted him angrily before he could finish, "You unfilial son, how can you say such inhumamane words!"
"Father, at this critical juncture, are you still so stubborn? Either hand over this brat surnamed Xiao to die, or we die. You'd better think clearly about this!" Zhuge Heng roared through gritted teeth.
Old Master Zhuge's face turned pale and then red with anger, almost unable to speak.
Zhuge Yabei said in a deep voice, "Zhuge Heng, say less. Your father has already told me about what happened at noon. Mr. Xiao acted to help our Zhuge family. If we hand him over to protect ourselves, what will we become? Won't we become worse than pigs and dogs?"
Seeing that Zhuge Heng still wanted to speak, Zhuge Yabei immediately waved his hand to interrupt him and said solemnly, "Don't say any more. Our Zhuge family will not do such ungrateful and despicable things. Even if the Zhuge family is destroyed, we will not do such cowardly and despicable things!"
"Well said!" Tu Fu, who had a hot temper, couldn't help but clap his hands and shout. Xiao Yunlong also nodded slightly.
Zhuge Yabei then turned and walked towards Xiao Yunlong.
Zhuge Wushuang stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "Greetings, Fifth Uncle. It's been many years, but you still have the same charm as before."
"You are Wushuang nephew? I often hear your uncle talk about you. You are indeed a talented person. It's good that you're back!"
Zhuge Yabei nodded slightly, then looked at Xiao Yunlong and cupped his hands, saying, "This must be Mr. Xiao, right?"
Xiao Yunlong cupped his hands and smiled, "Nice to meet you. I am indeed!"
Zhuge Yabei looked him up and down, then said, "Mr. Xiao, you are young but have an extraordinary demeanor, and you have such skilled followers. Your identity and background must be extraordinary. However, since you are now involved with the Eastern Domain Great Camp, for the sake of insurance, please leave Gusu City as soon as possible to avoid bringing disaster upon yourselves!"
Xiao Yunlong, however, shook his head and smiled, "Thank you for your kindness. I said at lunch today that since I've started helping, I'll see it through to the end. The matter has not been fully resolved, and I have no reason to leave halfway!"
Zhuge Yabei opened his mouth to persuade him again.
However, Zhuge Wushuang took the lead and said, "Fifth Uncle, you don't need to say any more. Since Mr. Xiao has said he will help, he will definitely help our Zhuge family resolve this. A small Murong family is not something Mr. Xiao would take seriously!"
Tu Fu couldn't help but say, "Let alone the young master not taking them seriously, I don't even take this Murong family seriously!"
Zhuge Yabei could only chuckle at this. Although he did not refute, he naturally did not believe it. He just thought that these young people were indeed young and vigorous.
Just then, a guard rushed in from outside with a letter.
"Patriarch, someone from the Murong family sent a letter!" The guard handed the letter to Murong Yaliang.
"Sent by someone from the Murong family?"
Old Master Murong was puzzled. After opening the letter, he read it together with Murong Yabei beside him.
However, after just a few glances, Murong Yabei's face turned ashen on the spot.
"Murong Bai, I didn't expect you to be so fast. I just returned to Gusu City, and you arrived right after. I was still planning to make some arrangements for the aftermath, but now it seems I don't even have this time!" Murong Yabei said with a wry smile.
Zhuge Wushuang couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Yaliang, is this letter from Murong Bai? The final ultimatum from the Murong family?"
"Precisely!" Old Master Murong nodded and said weakly, "The letter states that Murong Bai has arrived in Gusu City with a large contingent of troops from the Eastern Domain Great Camp, and has ordered the Gusu City Lord's Mansion and the Supervisory Bureau to seal off all exits from the city."
"What? Seal off all exits? This means that even if we want to escape now, we can't, and we've become turtles in a jar?" Sun Limin and others exclaimed.
At this moment, all the direct descendants of the Murong family became agitated, and their faces also became very grim.
"The Murong family's methods are so ruthless. Could it be that Murong Bai really intends to exterminate our Zhuge family?" Zhuge Yazhi gritted his teeth and snorted.
Old Master Zhuge continued to say in a deep voice, "Murong Bai also said that we are required to go to Yanziwu within half an hour. The letter specifically mentioned that we must see Mr. Xiao and Wushuang, otherwise they will kill our Zhuge family without mercy!"
"And kill us without mercy, this is simply too arrogant! Young master, let's go to Yanziwu now!" Tu Fu, who had a hot temper, gritted his teeth and shouted.
"No, Mr. Xiao, if you go, you will surely die. You must not be impulsive!" Murong Yabei quickly waved his hand.
Xiao Yunlong chuckled and said, "Since the other party has specifically asked to see me, and I'm not some shy young lady, what's there to be shy about!"
"Let's go to Yanziwu!" After saying that, Xiao Yunlong waved his hand and strode out.
Tu Fu, Zhuge Wushuang, Tang Bowen, and Jun Bufan immediately followed.
"What should we do, Big Brother? What should we do now?" Murong Yabei quickly turned his head and asked.
"What else can we do? Judging by the situation, the Murong family is determined to destroy our Zhuge family. Since we can't escape anyway, let's fight them. At worst, it will be a fight to the death!" Old Master Zhuge gritted his teeth and said.
"Okay, let's fight them. I've also brought some experts. Let's bring the family guards. Also, you said that Mr. Xiao and the others are very skilled. With all of us combined, we might not be without a fight!" Murong Yabei nodded.
"All Zhuge family guards, listen to my orders! Assemble quickly and set off, heading to Yanziwu!" Old Master Zhuge shouted as he walked outside.
Soon, the Zhuge family guards mobilized. There were about twenty of them, plus seven or eight followers brought by Zhuge Yabei from the Eastern Domain Great Camp. More than thirty people quickly got into cars and sped towards Yanziwu, following Xiao Yunlong's car, heading towards Yanziwu in a mighty procession.