Chapter 20: Ol' Huang, It’s Me
The enmity between Li Huafeng and Fang Chen was rather straightforward.
Even before the battle at Three World Mountain, Fang Chen’s martial cultivation had already achieved a remarkable level. At the time, he was already at the Qi Manipulation Stage.
Before the Divine General stole the limelight, Li Huafeng was the man of the hour. At the time, he had held the highest status in the hearts of the Grand Xia citizens. He, at the mere age of twenty-four, entered the mid Qi Manipulation Stage, which in turn marked him as the number one figure among the younger generation. And even amongst the older generation, few could match him.
Back then, Li Huafeng was already the deputy head of the Grand Brilliance Bureau and he had even personally handled numerous high-profile cases.
One day, he received intelligence that the general of a certain army had colluded with the Qingsong Empire. Thus, he went down to the military camp personally, captured the suspect, and brought him back to the Grand Brilliance Bureau for interrogation. However, the suspect turned out to be a bit too stubborn, and he put up with the torture all the way till the end, vehemently refusing to admit to any form of treason. In the end, due to the humiliation, the suspect bit his own tongue, killing himself.
Later, it had turned out that the general who was captured had served as Fang Chen's mentor for a period of time and was also a skilled warrior under Fang Canghai’s command.
When Fang Canghai received news of this incident, he was utterly enraged. He immediately reported the matter to the emperor, demanding a thorough investigation.
Upon investigation, it was revealed that the general had rubbed someone the wrong way. That person then went on to fabricate evidence and framed the general.
On the day of the general’s funeral, Fang Chen, who was nearly seventeen at the time, personally carried the coffin.
Along the way, he encountered Li Huafeng, who was there to offer his condolences. But instead of expressing remorse, Li Huafeng incessantly mocked the general’s reckless behavior and complained that the general had made a mountain out of a molehill by committing suicide, which immediately spurred Fang Chen into action.
That very day, the people of Grand Xia finally discovered that a young man—one much younger than Li Huafeng—had reached the peak of the Qi Manipulation Stage.
Li Huafeng, who was at the mid Qi Manipulation Stage, was far from Fang Chen’s match. Fang Chen broke his limbs and even shattered a portion of his qi sea.
From that day forth, Li Huafeng's cultivation regressed to the peak of the Qi Detonation Stage, never to advance again.
If not for the timely arrival of Prime Minister Li and his men, he might have even lost his life.
From that moment forward, the two became mortal enemies. Li Huafeng often found ways to cause trouble for Fang Chen, but Fang Chen always responded in kind. Yet, in the end, Li Huafeng would always be the one who suffered the losses.
"Who would have thought that even after so many years, you’d still only be a deputy head," Fang Chen mocked.
Hearing Fang Chen’s jarring remark, Li Huafeng's expression shifted back and forth.
Perhaps to ordinary people, his position was enviable. But in reality, it was far from what he had hoped to achieve; In the past, he had often dreamed of being able to fight the martial artists of the Qingsong Empire to his heart’s content, but Fang Chen came along and shattered his hopes and dreams, shoving his aspirations down the drain.
He couldn’t help himself and sneered, barking, “You stubborn fuck! If only your fists were as strong as your mouth back then, maybe you wouldn’t have suffered such a miserable defeat at Three World Mountain.” With no intentions to waste any more words on Fang Chen, Li Huafeng immediately ordered the prison warden next to him to take Fang Chen to his cell to await his trial.
*
The Grand Brilliance Bureau Prison.
When the cellmates noticed the arrival of fresh meat, they went crazy with excitement and started taunting, their words laced with mockery, ridicule and threats.
"The prison here at the Grand Brilliance sure is spacious. There are all sorts of people here," remarked Fang Chen casually.
The prison held at least a hundred individuals, and according to the way the Grand Brilliance Bureau operated, most of those here should have once been officials.
"We’re here," The warden said and pushed open the door to a cell, revealing six or seven inmates inside. They varied in age, but they all shared one trait: they were all weary and weak.
Evidently not recognizing Fang Chen, they only spared him a glance and didn’t say anything.
"Hey, warden, I've instructed someone to send a few things over. Can you help bring them to me?" requested Fang Chen.
The warden was slightly surprised. "What did you ask them to bring?"
"Nothing much, just a wolf-hair brush, a bit of cinnabar, and a stack of paper." replied Fang Chen, an innocent smile on his face.
The expression of the prison warden turned strange. Is Divine General Fang trying to draw talismans?
He fell silent briefly, seemingly in thought. He then shook his head and said indifferently, “The prison has its rules. I can only do that if the deputy head allows it.”
"You're one of Li Huafeng’s men?" asked Fang Chen.
The warden nodded slightly. "The deputy head has shown me great kindness." He then turned, left and locked the cell.
Immediately, the inmates turned rowdy. One of them couldn't help himself and broke into laughter, mocking, “Haha! You must be joking, kid! You’re planning on drawing talismans here? I've been here for so many years, but this is the first time I've heard such an interesting request. Hahaha!"
"Kid, I see that you're pretty young. What did you do to end up here? Those who find themselves in the Grand Brilliance Bureau aren’t simple men. Do you have anyone at home with enough influence to get you out?" Some of the prisoners were trying to dig into Fang Chen's background.
Another cellmate spoke up, "The prison has its rules. Since you're new, you'll be in charge of cleaning the chamber’s bucket."
"Clean the bucket?" Fang Chen's eyes drifted toward the corner of the cell, where a bucket stood solitarily.
"What are you guys yapping about?! I’m trying to sleep here!" Suddenly, a deep voice echoed throughout the cell.
The commotion immediately died down, and everyone turned their attention towards the source of the voice.
"We have a newcomer, huh?" the voice continued. "Newcomer, introduce yourself!"
"What are you waiting for? Quickly introduce yourself! Do you know who that is? That's one of the four Dragon Generals under the command of Divine General Fang!" someone urged when they saw how Fang Chen was still silent.
"Back then, the four Dragon Generals were true imposing figures. Unfortunately, three of them died during the final battle and the last remaining survivor was locked up in here. It’s been a full five years, but he has yet to receive a trial," another muttered quietly.
Fang Chen softly spoke. “Ol’ Huang, it’s me.”
Ol’ Huang?! The crowd looked at Fang Chen in disbelief. Was that kid tired of living? How dare he address that person that way?! Even the prison warden had to respectfully call him “General Huang!”
Silence ensued for a moment, and suddenly, a thunderous voice boomed through the prison. "Damn it! Marshall?! Why are you here?! Damn these bastards, they deserve to die!"
Boom.
The prison itself seemed to have been shattered, and the tremendous roar caused everyone to grimace in pain. They quickly covered their ears.
The next moment, to the astonishment of the inmates present, a towering figure, the size of a small mountain, appeared before Fang Chen.
The figure was at least half a body taller than the average person, and his arms were as thick as a grown man’s waist. Despite wearing an inmate’s uniform, he exuded an intimidating aura, making it impossible for anyone to look down on him.
His round, bulging eyes stared fixedly at Fang Chen. "Marshall, how dare they throw you in here! They lied to me! I'll kill them all and bring you out right now!”
Marshall?!
The inmates who had just mocked Fang Chen fell completely silent. They knew the significance of the word “marshall” when it came out of this man’s mouth.
"This young man is... he’s... he’s Divine General Fang?!"
"What’s going on out there?! How did Divine General Fang end up getting detained?" Shock and disbelief were displayed on the expression of the other inmates.
Soon, prison guards rushed over and stared at the giant figure with extreme trepidation. They were afraid to approach and could only shout sternly from a distance, "General Huang, return to your cell at once!"
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