Death… and me

Cheng Yun He was appointed to alleviate the chaos at Iron Cloud Citadel as he seemed to be the wisest and most sensible to Diwu Qing Rou. Diwu Qing Rou trusted Cheng Yun He as he had witnessed Cheng Yun He's competence in solving situations like this. Furthermore, Cheng Yun He was able to remain focused even in the presence of both his friends and families at the same time.

Cheng Yun He's exceptional tolerance for adversaries was known to all. In the face of death, he was able to remain calm and composed while looking for an escape route. Although it might not turn out as ideal as everyone wanted it to be, Cheng Yun He still managed to optimize his choices and look for a solution that incurred the least amount of damage.

It was once in a blue moon that Cheng Yun He would flare up like this.

Yun He Fa was in utter disbelief as he could not handle the truth that their meticulous plans would turn out like this, into a huge disaster.

"The prime minister said that you were framed by our enemies!" Cheng Yun He sighed but instantly recovered his composure and said matter of factly, "If the enemies managed to set you up once, what makes you think that they will not do it the second time? Whether King of Hell Chu is a King level master or not is irrelevant! We have to solve this first!"

Another reason why they had come was to save Number One. However, the tragedy is that their hopes of saving him was now diminished to almost nothing as Iron Cloud had now imposed high-security measures in lieu of the chaos that occurred the day before.

Cheng Yun He was distressed as he knew that the prime minister would be devastated upon hearing the news. Kong Shang Xin caught the worried look on his face and said scornfully, "Number One might be resourceful but so what? That does not prove anything! For all you know, he might not be able to contribute much."

Cheng Yun He scoffed at Kong Shang Xin as Kong Shang Xin was unaware of how much he was undermining Number One.

"Do you know who Number One is?" Cheng Yun He sighed while throwing a wistful glance at him.

Cheng Yun He was in utter disbelief and was at the edge of losing his cool. "Your hasty and childish actions have dashed the hopes of Number One surviving and yet you can tell me that you have no clue of who he is?"

Golden Horse Riders were usually summoned for such missions, given their extreme nature. However, this time, the prime minister personally planned the arrangement in the hopes of a successful mission and even reiterated his orders countless times. Due to the drastic plight of the situation, he sent Cheng Yun He on his way to find out what has happened. Most importantly, he wanted to prevent Kong Shang Xin from acting foolishly.

After realizing that the prime minister had placed utmost importance on the mission, Kong Shang Xin's face turned pale and he started to break out in cold sweat.

At the beginning of the mission, the King level leader Yin was forewarned by the prime minister that Tie Bu Tian should not be assassinated regardless of the situation, as Iron Cloud's anger will be provoked and that would indirectly lead to the death of Number One.

"It is so obvious that Number One is so much more important to the prime minister compared to Tie Bu Tian! The prime minister realized how important King of Hell Chu was to Iron Cloud and that is why he specifically emphasized that it is more important to eradicate any misunderstanding with the mystery clan than to start a war, he even said that we should not touch the King of Hell Chu if we are uncertain! Number One comes first no matter what happens!" Kong Shang Xin burst out, already at his wit's end of trying to make things work out.

"So who actually is Number One?"Kong Shang Xin stuttered as beads of perspiration started trickling down his forehead.

"What? I cannot believe it that after so long, you have absolutely no idea who I am talking about! All his life, the prime minister's teacher only had two disciples! Figure out it yourself!" Cheng Yun He said solemnly, flabbergasted that the absurdity he was facing. Kong Shang Xin might as well be dead if he still cannot comprehend what he was saying.

"That is… Number One?" Kong Shang Xin choked and trembled in fear, realizing that he had committed a grave and terrible mistake.

"If not him, then who?" Cheng Yun He glared at him. Cheng Yun He was so furious that he could feel his face heating up.

"The creation of the Golden Horse riders Department was a joint effort of both the prime minister and Number One! Do you know how hard it was for them? In the past, the two martial brothers heavily depended on one another as they were the only two chosen ones serving Great Zhao. Number One was eight years younger than the prime minister back then and he never revealed his true identity to anyone up till now." Cheng Yu added.

It was then known that the status of the prime minister grew under the teachings of Great Zhao while Number One gradually faded from everyone's mind. " However, after seven to eight years, news of a saint amongst the Iron Cloud's officials spread like wildfire. Do you know the story behind it?" Cheng Yun He added somberly.

Kong Shang Xin remained silent as he was terribly remorseful for his wrongdoings after knowing the truth.

Cheng Yun He sighed heavily, as he began to reminisce about the happy times he had.

"Back then, the prime minister, Han Bu Chu, Number One and I were drinking together. Number One was only twenty years old and Diwu Qing Rou did not have the power he currently had. We drank a lot and we were all very intoxicated. Casually, we started talking about our ambitions and goals for the future. Diwu Qing Rou expressed his ambition to conquer and unify the Nine Heavens alone. He felt that a man's ultimate success is determined if he is able to stand on a vast piece of land that he has conquered, with his head looking up to the sky, moon, and sun. Ideally, he would also want to be able to gaze upon millions of lives, ruling them all. He even said that he would want to be lying on a beautiful woman's lap when he is drunk and be ruling the world whenever he is sober, living in eternal glory." Cheng Yun He paused, taking a sip of water before he continued saying, "Number One was drunk at that point of time but he still managed to support Diwu Qing Rou's ambition by promising him that he will hand Iron Cloud to him with two hands as a gesture to congratulate him on his success of unifying the world."

No one believed that they will stick to their words since they were both drunk. Who would envision those words into a successful reality?

If Chu Yag was present, he would certainly say with a hint of sadness, " Not 'almost succeeded, you mean 'succeeded'! " It was known that Tang Xin Sheng gifted Iron Cloud to Diwu Qing Rou in the previous life.

Recalling the past, Cheng Yun He subconsciously sighed. Among the four of them, one of them became the prime minister of an affluent country that technically made him the emperor. The others snuck into Iron Cloud and became a model saint amongst the officials. While they were both leaders in their own aspects, they still had the common objective in mind.

Cheng Yun He became Diwu Qing Rou's assistant, working modestly in the shadow while handling several issues that were tough to solve. They both share the similar fear of Han Bu Chu as they both felt that he was the most terrifying person on earth.

Ironically, Han Bu Chu worshipped Diwu Qing Rou and was willing to do anything without a second thought, regardless of whether it would conflict with his morals and ethics.

Han Bu Chu committed many immoral deeds in secrecy but Diwu Qing Rou was the one who got to bask in all the glory and receive good rapport amongst those whom he worked with, especially higher ranking officials. Anything tasked to Diwu Qing Rou that was hard for him to carry out would be automatically done by Han Bu Chu without a word.

Although Han Bu Chu saw himself as a leverage for Diwu Qing Rou, he continued doing everything willingly and sincerely.

There were exclusive situations where even Cheng Yun He was excluded from participating. However, Han Bu Chu still discussed them with Diwu Qing Rou indiscretion. These were those four people.

Today, Number One fell into King of Hell's ruse in Iron Cloud. In addition, Han Bu Chu was cast into an impasse by his own comrade. He could not recede in time while the other two were too far away waiting for his return.

While pondering on what happened, Cheng Yun he had the urge to drink.

At the current moment, what he wanted to do most was to go back to the past and drink with the others until they were drunk, just like that day.

"If the Number One's position was so important, why did the prime minister keep it a secret from us?" Yin Wu Fa and Kong Shang Xin wondered as they looked at each other.

"Why would the prime minister reveal such a confidential relationship like this?" Cheng Yun He exclaimed with a baffled look on his face.

Kong Shang Xin sighed and grimaced in pain as his injuries seemed to be aggravated slightly. "Let us all use this time to cool down and reflect on what happened today alright?' Cheng Yun He smiled as he tried to stay positive for the team. Although he seemed to be having flashbacks from recollecting the past, he immediately recovered his composure as he did not want to dampen the mood further. "Both of you should focus on recovering first. Without strength, we might not even be able to negotiate with the other parties!" Cheng Yun He said in a calm tone.

"All of our ranks will temporarily be suspended in Iron Cloud!" Cheng Yun He's voice faltered slightly although he tried his best to remain very calm. "We will wait till you have fully recovered to your tiptop condition before continuing the war."

"What about the prime minister's plans then? Will they be delayed?" Yin Wu Fa questioned with a worried look on his face.

"We do not have a choice. If we enter the war like that, we will either be paralyzed for life or even die! All of you are already gravely injured and are not in the shape to even protect yourself, what more about the prime minister's plans! How long do you think will it take all of you to recover?" Cheng Yun He said.

"I…will probably need a month!" Yin Wu Fa groaned. He was full of hatred as he knew it for a fact that he was not ready to continue the war. He already had the Jade Spirit Ginseng, which is one of the nine legendary herbs for healing injuries and yet, he still required a month to heal. He himself knew how grave his injuries were.

"I only need a month! In fact, ten days is already sufficient for me to heal slightly. I can assure you that King of Chu's injuries are far worse compared to mine, likewise for the other King level leader on their side!" Kong Shang Xin said casually, with his gaze ice-cold and his voice full of conceitedness.

"That was not even King of Hell Chu that the both of you fought with!" Cheng Yun He sighed faintly as he pondered on the reason on why King level leader Kong would insist on that.

Two of the four King level leaders from the Golden Horse Riders Department actually fell into the trap. King of Chu's traps were brilliant and Cheng Yun He had no idea what tactics he employed.

"I will update the prime minister about what has happened over here." Cheng Yun He took a deep breath as he continued saying, "Second leader Kong, can you please tell me every minute detail that occurred these few days?"

Kong Shang Xin threw a glance of remorse and complied sadly.

"I don't think the others need Jade Spirit Ginseng for your injuries right? In that case, give me the two extra pieces back." Cheng Yun He said decidedly while reaching out his hand to retrieve the priceless remedy from Kong Shang Xin.

At the moment, it seemed impossible to eradicate misunderstandings as Number One would be most likely dead. Cheng Yun He felt that the two pieces of Jade Spirit Ginseng should not be left in the hands of the two thugs that foiled the prime minister's plans as they acted on their own accord without sparing a thought for the main goal in mind.