"died?"
Zhou An was startled.
After he reacted, he looked at Zhang Yao carefully. After realizing that his clothes were not torn, he couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that your strength is even more powerful than I thought. It truly surpasses me."
"This little trick is nothing."
Zhang Yao shook his head and said: "Changping City has not been very stable recently. There are undercurrents and chaos."
"I felt it most vividly in the county governor's mansion. The Wang family secretly arranged many actions."
"This is normal."
Zhou An nodded and pointedly said: "The Wang family has been able to rule Changping City for decades because of the white jade pillar that supports the sky."
"Now that the pillar is about to collapse, the Wang family will naturally plan for a way out and win over all parties in an effort to stabilize the situation and continue to maintain their rule."
Zhang Yao was silent for a moment and asked softly: "Master, how old is that old man of the Wang family?"
Zhou An heard this, recalled it carefully, and then cautiously said: "That old man was a master who was over fifty years old, and he has protected the Wang family for decades."
"If you are not a hundred years old now, you should be an octogenarian."
“That’s at least ninety years old!”
Zhang Yao narrowed his eyes and said, "Even though a martial arts master has a long lifespan, at such an old age, he should have lived to the end."
"good."
Zhou An agreed: "However, the master can lock the energy and blood, and the body will be permanent. The body will only decay before death."
"Even though he is over ninety years old, he can still exert at least 60-70% of his strength. He is still unbeatable in Changping City."
"Even if four or five extremely powerful people join forces, they cannot be his opponent."
Zhang Yao took a deep breath and asked, "Do you think the Wang family can survive this disaster?"
"It's hard."
Zhou An shook his head and said cautiously: "The Wang family was just a small family in the early years. It relied on that grandmaster to reach the sky in one step."
"After they became successful, they acted very arrogantly and domineeringly. All the forces in the city dared to be angry but dared not speak out."
"In recent years, although my style has improved a bit, I still maintain strict suppression in all aspects and offend too many people!"
"It can be said that as long as the old man does not die, the Wang family's position will still be stable, and the remaining forces will only dare to make some small moves at most."
"But if he dies, then the Wang family will probably be attacked by a group of people, and it is very likely that the entire clan will be exterminated!"
Zhang Yao was silent for a moment, then whispered: "Then if he goes crazy before dying and slaughters all the powerful martial arts, aristocratic families, chambers of commerce and other powerful factions in the city..."
"This is impossible."
Zhou An shook his head and said: "The top masters in the city are not pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. They are more cautious at this time and cannot get together to give him a chance."
"With his condition, he may kill one or two people at most and he will return to the west early. That will only cause the situation to get out of control."
"I see."
Zhang Yao nodded solemnly, and the plan in his heart became clear again.
…………
Lu Cang's death did not cause many waves in Changping City.
In addition to the attention of some interested people, the biggest change is probably that the Wang family took the initiative to find Zhang Yao and raised his annual salary to 450 taels of silver.
Zhang Yao did not refuse and accepted with peace of mind.
While pondering the secrets of the master, he paid close attention to the changes in the situation in the city, and went to the martial arts hall to see his master Zhou An every few days.
Two months later: the situation in Changping City has become increasingly tense. Although it is still peaceful on the surface, it has long been turbulent secretly.
The Wang family's actions became more intensive, and Zhang Yao even discovered that they were secretly transferring some direct descendants to Lingjiang City, a hundred miles away.
"It's time to act."
Zhang Yao felt that the time had come, so one night, he quietly left the county magistrate's mansion and took the initiative to visit Kuang Lei Martial Arts Hall, asking to see Zhao Donglai.
After the servant guarding the gate informed him, Zhao Donglai would see him soon.
"Master Zhao, I apologize for taking the liberty of visiting."
Zhang Yao bowed his hands politely.
"Hahaha, my nephew is so polite. Lao Zhou and I have been friends for decades..."
Zhao Donglai seemed very enthusiastic and greeted his servants to serve tea.
He still values Zhang Yao, a young but powerful perfection warrior.
He knew some inside stories from seven years ago and concluded that Zhang Yao had the hope of becoming a great master in the future, so his attitude was naturally different from that of others.
"Master Zhao."
After the two exchanged a few words, Zhang Yao took the initiative and said, "Can I take a step to talk?"
"Um?"
Zhao Donglai's expression moved slightly, and he immediately understood and ordered several servants to retreat and guard the hall door from a distance.
"My dear nephew, if you have anything to say, just say it."
He lowered his voice and said: "There are no other people here, and there is no risk of leaking the news."
"good."
Zhang Yao nodded and said straight to the point: "The Wang family is unpopular, the master is dying, and his downfall is imminent."
"At this time of great change, I would like to join forces with Hall Master Zhao and agree to advance and retreat together in the future."
"Um?"
When Zhao Donglai heard this, he was immediately surprised.
He originally thought that Zhang Yao had some inside information about the county governor's mansion and came to him to make a deal.
But what he didn't expect was that Zhang Yao would be so straightforward and still want to cooperate with him?
"cooperate……"
Zhao Donglai squinted his eyes and looked at Zhang Yao with a scrutinizing gaze without saying a word.
Although he didn't speak, his eyes gave an obvious signal - what qualifications do you have to join forces with me?
"Master Zhao."
Zhang Yao smiled slightly and reached out his hand: "Can you help me?"
"you……"
Zhao Donglai looked at him in surprise, but did not refuse.
"good!"
The two hands collided and separated at the first touch, and a dull sound exploded in the hall.
Zhang Yao's body swayed slightly, but then he retracted his palm and sat firmly on the chair.
Zhao Donglai's palms trembled, his knuckles turned slightly white, and finally he couldn't help but change his expression.
"I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it..."
His eyes were fixed on Zhang Yao, as if he still couldn't believe the result, and his eyes showed extremely complicated emotions:
"My good nephew is really secretive, which surprises me!"
"At your age, you have such strength... There is hope for being a Grandmaster! There is hope for being a Grandmaster!!"
At the end of the sentence, his tone became fierce, with a hint of uncontrollable jealousy.
"Mr. Zhao praises me too much."
Zhang Yao shook his head and said in a low voice: "The realm of the Grandmaster... I don't even have any hope at the moment."
"But with my strength, I should be qualified to cooperate with Hall Master Zhao, right?"
"certainly!"
A bright smile suddenly appeared on Zhao Donglai's face: "My nephew came to me because he made the right move!"
"We are both martial arts practitioners, and your master is still on good terms with me. We should be allies by nature!"
Zhang Yao was noncommittal about what he said. He changed the subject and asked, "Master Zhao, I am in the county governor's mansion and I am a fan of the authorities."
"I would like to ask you, where has the situation in the city come to?"
