Free Web NovelChapter 568: Chapter 568: Wu Ziyu
"I am Wu Ziyu, I’ve met Dao General Zhang!"
In the White Tiger Hall of the West Plain Dao Camp, a young samurai greeted Zhang Yuan with a composed salute.
The opponent appeared to be in his twenties, donning a white martial outfit, with a handsome appearance and outstanding temperament. His bright and spirited eyes held a hint of arrogance, clearly identifying him as an elite disciple from either a major sect or noble family.
This Wu Ziyu was dispatched by the Wu Family to West Plain City to discuss the matter of bandit suppression with Zhang Yuan.
Zhang Yuan returned the greeting indifferently: "Brother Wu, you have traveled far and must be weary."
The other party came from Ruiyuan City, several hundred miles away.
Wu Ziyu and his two attendants wore the look of those who had traveled day and night to arrive here.
This scion of the Wu family was evidently quite eager, scarcely seated before impatiently inquiring when the West Plain Dao Camp would set out to pursue the fierce bandits and reclaim the lost goods of the caravan.
He left Zhang Yuan speechless!
Suppressing a slight displeasure, Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Wu, based on the current information, the horse bandits who plundered your caravan are likely a detachment of the Desert Wind Army."
Pausing, he continued, "There are at least three detachments of the Desert Wind Army operating between the Western Regions and the West Plain, with a large number of bandits, while the West Plain Dao Camp only has three hundred Daoist soldiers available, making it truly challenging."
As the term suggests, horse bandits are robbers who steal while mounted, with extraordinary mobility.
Therefore, to annihilate the horse bandits, only iron cavalry can achieve it.
Though the total number of soldiers in the West Plain Dao Camp is one thousand, the seven hundred auxiliary troops apart from the Daoist soldiers are of little use.
Zhang Yuan could not possibly deploy all troops to suppress the bandits.
His predecessor tried that, resulting in a defeat with lost soldiers along with his downfall.
More importantly, Zhang Yuan was quite dissatisfied with the attitude of the other party, or rather, the Wu family.
He owed them nothing, not to mention that he hadn’t even had dinner!
Although Wu Ziyu was young and impetuous, he wasn’t the type with low emotional intelligence.
He quickly realized he had acted too hastily.
This Wu scion took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Dao General Zhang, to be honest, while most of the goods our Wu family lost aren’t crucial, there is a particular Seven-leaf reishi that is of great importance."
"As long as you can help us retrieve this item, the Wu family will certainly repay you."
As he spoke, he signaled to the attendant beside him: "A small token of appreciation, please accept it graciously!"
The latter immediately retrieved a sandalwood box from the luggage and presented it, opening the box lid.
Inside was a stack of thick gold notes!
Zhang Yuan glanced over and found the top gold note carried a denomination of a thousand taels.
If the notes below were of the same denomination, the total would be at least thirty thousand taels of gold.
An impressive gesture indeed!
Even though Zhang Yuan wasn’t short of money, he was taken aback by this "small token of appreciation" from the other party.
This demonstrated how important that Seven-leaf reishi was to the Wu family!
Zhang Yuan didn’t immediately accept the gold notes, pondering for a moment before saying, "How about this, Brother Wu, you all rest well first, and I will give you a reply tomorrow morning."
"Dao General Zhang..."
Before Wu Ziyu could respond, another attendant couldn’t help but speak, his expression rather grim.
"Silence!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Wu Ziyu interrupted by rising to his feet.
The Wu scion saluted Zhang Yuan: "Then I will eagerly await good news!"
Initially, Zhang Yuan planned to arrange for the three of them to stay at the Dao Camp, as there were guest accommodations available.
But Wu Ziyu politely declined, stating that they had a place in the city.
They would return to continue discussions with Zhang Yuan early the next morning.
Zhang Yuan did not insist, personally escorting them out of the camp gate.
The Wu Clan is a noble family of Daqian, and they have considerable connections with Upper Scenic Celestial, so it’s only proper to observe proper etiquette.
Just after leaving the Dao Camp and arriving on the street, one of his attendants complained, "Seventh Young Master, you gave Zhang Yuan too much face, he’s just a mere Dao General!"
Wu Ziyu wasn’t angered by his subordinate’s comment; he shook his head and replied, "This Dao General Zhang is not an ordinary person. It’s said that there was a bounty placed on his head, but he ended up killing two waves of Blood Shadow Building assassins."
"His cultivation level is at least Tier Six, possibly even reaching the peak of Tier Six!"
The attendant was dumbfounded: "How is that possible?"
Zhang Yuan appeared just over twenty, even younger than Wu Ziyu.
As the Wu family’s impeccably nurtured prodigy, Wu Ziyu was only at the peak of Tier Five.
How could there be such a significant gap between him and Zhang Yuan?
"This is likely true."
Wu Ziyu said calmly, "He seems to have cultivated a secret technique; I can’t discern his true cultivation at all. We have no foundation in West Plain City, provoking such a powerful figure would be unwise."
He came to seek help, not to display the Wu family’s authority.
Moreover, the immediate priority for Wu Ziyu was to retrieve the Seven-leaf reishi lost by the caravan.
Everything else was insignificant!
Indeed, Wu Ziyu could leverage the Wu family’s reputation and their connections with Upper Scenic Celestial to pressure Zhang Yuan.
But doing so would completely ruin their relationship.
Zhang Yuan could easily pretend to comply while actually doing nothing, causing him to fail miserably.
Wu Ziyu thought it over, growing increasingly worried.
However, the next morning, when Wu Ziyu and his attendants returned to the Dao Camp, before he could speak, Zhang Yuan said, "Brother Wu, I can now lead the Daoist soldiers to the Western Regions, to search and pursue those horse bandits who attacked your caravan."
Wu Ziyu was immediately astonished.
He couldn’t understand why Zhang Yuan’s attitude had changed so drastically overnight.
So straightforward it was unbelievable.
In fact, the Wu family scion was prepared for a prolonged wrangle with Zhang Yuan; he even had contingency plans.
But now they were completely unnecessary.
Wu Ziyu’s mouth opened slightly, then he saluted and said, "Thank you, sir!"
"No need to be polite."
Zhang Yuan waved his hand and said, "But I have a request."
Zhang Yuan’s request was simple: for the Wu family’s sole surviving Tier Four escort to act as a guide.
This Tier Four expert had miraculously escaped back to the West Plain, but hadn’t come to the Dao Camp, making his whereabouts unknown.
"No problem."
Wu Ziyu agreed readily: "He’s recovering in the city!"
The person’s injuries weren’t severe, and acting as a guide shouldn’t be an issue.
Zhang Yuan nodded: "Then bring him over, the sooner the better."
The reason for Zhang Yuan’s change in attitude was because he received another talisman from the sect last night.
Upper Scenic Celestial had already dispatched a Tier Six expert with two hundred elite Daoist soldiers to West Plain City for support.
Since the sect attached such importance, Zhang Yuan could no longer remain inactive.
He decided to first lead the troops to the Western Regions!
