Stuck in a Chinese novel - Chapter 480

Chapter 480: A deal with the Military
Chapter 480

“I guess things didn’t go your way.” The first words that came out of Luo Li’s mouth irritated Wei Jun, but he ignored them and offered them a seat.

The envoy from the military consisted of Luo Li, a commander-ranked cultivator, and a commander in the military as well. Just one level below the old man of the military, who called all the shots.

“And I guess your old man is still hiding like a coward.” Wei Jun spoke once the military envoy was seated.

“…” Luo Li awkwardly remained silent at Wei Jun’s rebuttal while the rest of the military personnel took his words with great offense.

But could any of them say anything about it?

“Let’s discuss business, shall we?” Luo Li asked.

“I didn’t call you here to jab at each other either.” Wei Jun replied before he got straight to the point, “Let’s join forces.”

“Is there a choice?” Luo Li asked.

“I understand I’m stronger than you, and in the current state the old man is, I can easily take over, but I’d rather not make the wrong enemies.” Wei Jun replied.

“Are there right enemies as well?” Luo Li asked.

“There are. Like the imperial family.” Wei Jun replied.

Wei Jun’s example was spot on as Luo Li asked, “So since we have a common enemy, we should join forces.”

“Exactly.” Wei Jun replied.

“And what about after that?” Luo Li asked.

“What about after?” Wei Jun asked.

“You don’t expect me to believe that a man who was nothing two years ago is now in a position like you. I have even heard rumors that the death of the former patriarch wasn’t a coincidence. Keeping all that in mind, it’s clear to me you’re an ambitious man. Scarily ambitious, one could say. What if you bear your fangs at us tomorrow when you’ve run out of enemies?” Luo Li asked in great detail, recounting Wei Jun’s previous incidents.

Nodding in assent, Wei Jun simply asked, “And your answer is?”

“Do you think I can give you one after all that?” Luo Li asked.

“…” Wei Jun remained silent for a while before he asked, “What do you want?”

“Your word.” Luo Li replied.

“Haha. You’re more naive than I thought.” Wei Jun said.

“I know. In this situation, signing a contract is much better. But that’s only for those who think of you as a tyrant or an ambitious guy, but I…”

Luo Li remembered how Wei Jun had fought. Granted, there was nothing that could stop him from growing and then further taking over the nation, possibly the whole world, but the same couldn’t be said for his lover, the one for whom he changed sides and fought a clearly disadvantageous battle.

Had he not witnessed such a scene himself, Luo Li would have surely doubted Wei Jun right now.

Hence, there was no need for a fancy contract or something magical. All that was needed was his word.

His word in front of…

“Your lovers. Call them here and take an oath in front of them that you will never do anything to harm the military and the innocents. That is all I ask.” Luo Li asked.

[He got you now, host]

‘Shut up.’ Wei Jun replied in annoyance.

He was irritated, justifiably so.

He was constantly being reminded of his weaknesses. Weaknesses he never had before. But now that he did, he had to admit, being vulnerable wasn’t that exciting. Before, in his previous life, he had no weaknesses. His family was all powerful, so no one could harm those he cared for.

Now, though, the fact was different. He had people to protect, some more than others.

And that was a weakness he was reminded of again. Quite soon at that.

But Wei Jun knew he wasn’t all-powerful, and he had to concede sometimes, so he nodded and said, “Exclude the old man from that agreement, and we have a deal.”

“…” Luo Li remained silent. He wasn’t at a loss for words. He was cornered. To say the old man was understanding was an understatement. He wasn’t. He was the most unreasonable person Luo Li had ever seen. So thirsty for power that the empire came to the verge of civil war once, due to his actions. Of course, that was quite long ago, and one would think the old man would have cultivated wisdom with age.

He didn’t.

So Luo Li knew one simple fact. Wei Jun and Liu Qianghua could not coexist. They could not exist at the same time. One of them would have to die.

The problem Luo Li faced was that both of them were full of ambition and beyond control. The question was, which one of them was worse?

“Alright.” Luo Li replied after a long time.

“Sir!”

“Commander!”

“Luo Li!!!”

Exclamations of protest and rage were incited but…

“Silence!” Luo Li said only once, and they all went silent. Luo Li was, after all, their current and immediate superior. With Liu Qianghua out of commission at the moment, he was their chief in command, and they were all soldiers.

A soldier always listened to their commanding officer rather than their king. Liu Qianghua was the king.

And it wasn’t like they weren’t aware of the nature of the old man. They were very well aware of him, but the point that stood out was that he was, in the end, one of them. A military man. To choose Wei Jun, who was not only not one of them, but also an evil cultivator, was what they protested about.

“Good.” Wei Jun said before he had Li Wei contact both of the girls who were busy training and had them come to their temporary office, Wei Jun’s villa. Since Wei Jun’s villa was out of the city’s radius, like many other elite accommodations, they were safe from destruction.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for his several office buildings that went down with the destruction of the urban area of the city.

The girls soon came, and an agreement in their presence was written, and not only that, begrudgingly, Wei Jun promised not to harm the military and the CSF in the future, granted they don’t cross him as well.

Liu Qianghua, of course, was exempt from that agreement. His fate would depend on his actions, but Luo Li knew Wei Jun was just saying that for courtesy. Two kings couldn’t exist at the same time, and that was what he was.

A king.

Wei Jun would not allow Liu Qianghua to exist.

“So…” Luo Li asked once the agreement and everything were done, “What do you want?”

Though he had an idea, he needed to make sure there wasn’t anything misunderstood.

“Does the media know the man who attacked the Yuan Tin city is dead?” Wei Jun asked.

“No. We don’t reveal such sensitive information. For now, we’ve kept a tight gag on anything that transpired in the city.” Luo Li replied. Of course, doing so, they would incur a lot of public wrath, but what could they do? The public was not their responsibility; it was the government’s.

“Great.” Wei Jun simply replied.

“Great? Why would you as…” Luo Li stopped mid-sentence as his eyes went wide.

“You don’t…” Luo Li was kind of scared. To think Wei Jun really intended to do what he thought he intended to do. Just the thought was disturbing.

“Yep.” Wei Jun replied, “We need a scapegoat.”

“You…” Luo Li began, but all he could say in the end was, “Lunatic.”

“Thanks.” To Wei Jun, that was the greatest of compliments as he continued, “I take it the government is taking it out on you?”

“They’re asking for independence, yes.” Luo Li replied.

“Great. That’s two with one stone.” Wei Jun replied before he stood up and left, “You need help?”

“Only to act.” Wei Jun said with a simple smile and left.

~~

“What have we gained from investing our faith in the military? Nothing! We need to stand up for ourselves. Luckily, the young master of the Xin family has so graciously donated a great amount of cultivator manpower to the government so that we can protect ourselves on our own. So we don’t have to be so helpless when another incident like the incident of the Yuan Yin city occurs.” A man standing on the podium delivered a speech before hundreds and thousands of people while cameras snapped at full swing, capturing his image and relaying his speech word by word across the nation.

“So, to thank the young master, we have decided to grant him the right to rebuild the city of Yu—”

Boom!!!!!

The great and ambitious speech was, however, interrupted by a deafening roar that shook the entire city.

And in the distance, Xin Huatao, a man in his mid-twenties, could see him. A figure standing midair, wearing a long, dark overcoat and a mask that hid his facial features.

And then…