The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 69 Abstinence

"The Matchmaker? The Matchmaker has been gone for a long time. Guanyin Bodhisattva was also looking for him everywhere a few days ago, but it seems that she has not found any trace of him yet."

Venus pondered for a moment, wondering what trouble the Old Man of the Moon had gotten into that so many people were looking for him.

The Jade Emperor's expression darkened slightly: "Didn't Guanyin Bodhisattva seek out the Old Man of the Moon once before? It seems he's involved in the Old Man of the Moon's disappearance. Venus, do you know who was the last person to see the Old Man of the Moon?"

Venus, regaining his senses, said, "It should be Erlang Shen, the True Lord of Manifestation."

The Jade Emperor was taken aback: "It's actually Yang Jian. This matter is not simple... Venus, I'll have to trouble you this time. The Seventh Princess is in love, so be careful not to let anyone scheme against her."

The Jade Emperor felt a mix of emotions. After his sister, Si Fan, fell into the mortal realm, was it now his daughter's turn?

The ways of Heaven are unpredictable, and there are too many cautionary tales to ignore, forcing him to be on guard.

While the Jade Emperor was engrossed in calculating the Heavenly Way, the celestial salvation ceremony in the human world had already officially begun.

With the protection of the Demon-Slaying Army and the Immortal Army, the conference was able to proceed normally.

Three hundred years of chaos created many cruel and bloodthirsty armies. These people slaughtered civilians indiscriminately in life and continued to run rampant in both the realms of the living and the dead. They would rather risk their souls being scattered than go to hell to be punished.

After being wiped out several times by the Demon-Suppressing Army and the Immortal Army, they realized they couldn't fight them head-on, so they immediately changed their strategy and went into hiding, secretly plotting something unknown.

As the danger of the memorial service diminished, some of the hesitant monks and Taoists resumed their journey and began converging on Daxing City.

Jiang Feng, Wang Yuanzhi, and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief when they saw that everything was going smoothly.

Seven days later, Jizang gazed at the auspicious clouds of merit on the altar, a peaceful smile on his face: "The assembly has been going on for seven days. Now the merits have appeared, and our efforts have not been in vain."

Wang Yuanzhi calculated with his fingers and said, "One seven followed by seven seven, this conference should last forty-nine days to be considered a complete success."

On the final day, we will all ascend the altar to perform rituals, praying for the salvation of the last batch of wandering souls, thus completely purifying the human world.

Jiang Feng said, "I hope so. I sent Zhang Guo and Cui Ying to investigate the whereabouts of those evil spirits, and they seem to have formed an alliance. I hope they don't create an eighteen-way coalition to attack us."

Wang Yuanzhi frowned: "This is not good news. Although these evil spirits were cruel and bloodthirsty in life, there are many talented generals among them. If they are really organized, the Demon-Suppressing Army and the Longevity Army will not be able to handle them."

Jiang Feng said, "There's no need to be so pessimistic. Actually, our generals are not bad either."

Although Gao Jiong and Yang Su are ill, we still have the wise and mighty Prince Jin as our commander, and the greatest strategist of all time, that is, me, Jiang Feng, to assist us. As long as the two of us cooperate well…”

"Then we've truly lost everything."

Wang Yuanzhi felt a deep sense of despair just hearing about the "Yang Dianfeng" duo.

Although Yang Guang participated in the war to destroy Chen and even served as the commander of one of the routes, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was just there to gain military merit.

As for Jiang Feng, this quack strategist, he was not only incompetent and foolish in military matters, but also completely ignorant of them.

At that point, let alone putting them against Tuoba Tao and Erzhu Rong, even if Gao Huan and his son Gao Yang came, there's a very high chance they'd be beaten senseless...

Faced with Wang Yuanzhi's contempt, Jiang Feng was furious: "What do you mean? Are you looking down on me?"

I am not only incredibly resourceful, but I also have a keen eye for people!

"Do you dare make a bet with me? We each pick a thousand men, and I'll randomly choose a lowly soldier as commander. He'll beat you and your troops to a pulp!"

Wang Yuanzhi said calmly, "If you don't believe me, I have long since practiced abstinence from grains and haven't eaten for over twenty years."

Jiang Feng: "..."

Why is this old man so hard to fool? Why doesn't he fall for it?

Upon discovering the Alliance of Evil Spirits, he knew that a counterattack by the evil spirits was inevitable. Jiang Feng had already chosen a temporary commander for the Demon-Slaying Army and the Immortal Army.

Li Jing, also known as Pharmacist Li.

Although this future military genius of the Tang Dynasty has no experience in leading troops, Li Jing has never been defeated in his life and is still very trustworthy.

As the saying goes, "Speak of the devil and he appears." Just as Jiang Feng was thinking about how to fleece Wang Yuanzhi, Li Jing arrived with a group of guards.

"Commander Jiang, the Empress Dowager is hosting a banquet tonight to welcome her adopted daughter. His Majesty has specially sent me to invite Commander Jiang to attend the ceremony."

Since Yang Jian was possessed by an evil spirit and Li Jing spoke up to persuade Jiang Feng, Li Jing gained Yang Jian's favor and was promoted several ranks to become a Palace Attendant.

Now he is in charge of protecting Yang Jian on a daily basis, and has become a favorite in the court. His entourage is also much larger than before, with more than twenty guards accompanying him.

Upon seeing Li Jing arrive, Jiang Feng warmly stepped forward and grasped his hand: "Brother, I've missed you terribly these past few days!"

Li Jing: "..."

You've mastered the Prince of Jin's tricks, but what's with this "brother" address? I'm more than ten years older than you. You can't just lie like that!

Jiang Feng looked at his disheveled expression and smiled slightly: "Brother, why does the Empress suddenly want to take in a goddaughter? Is that woman's background clean?"

Li Jing said, "I have already investigated her background. She is a woman from the Zhao family in Yangzhou. She said she came to the capital to find her husband. The Empress Dowager happened to meet her when she went to the Guanyin Temple to offer incense. Seeing that she was pitiful, she wanted to take her in as her adopted daughter."

Jiang Feng frowned slightly: "Going to the capital to find her husband, that sounds like a familiar story... Chen Shimei of the Sui Dynasty, could her husband be the imperial son-in-law Liu Shu?"

Li Jing looked at Jiang Feng with a complicated expression: "Commander Jiang, it's best not to speculate. You'll know when you get there."

Jiang Feng smiled and said, "You're right. We're just going to watch the fun anyway; it has nothing to do with us!"

Li Jing fell silent for a moment: "..."

It's true that it has nothing to do with me, but whether it has anything to do with you is another matter!

Li Jing looked at Jiang Feng with pity and said, "Now that I have informed Commander Jiang of the matter, I will take my leave."

Jiang Feng grabbed his sleeve and said, "Brother, don't be impatient. I have foreseen that you are a general of unparalleled talent. In the future, you will command the three armies and do things that will destroy the country and the race, and achieve great merit that overshadows the emperor!"

Although the time is not right yet, I cannot bear to see you wasting your years by the emperor's side, so I have specially found an opportunity for you to practice!

Look at the Demon-Slaying Army and the Immortal Army, they're both under your command now. Consider it a rehearsal, so you'll be more adept at handling important matters in the future!

"ah?!"

Li Jing was so frightened that he fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide open, staring at Jiang Feng speechlessly.

The country was destroyed and the race wiped out, yet his achievements overshadowed the ruler?

All I did was say a few words in support of the emperor, and you're already trying to exterminate my entire family!

No, can a person really be that petty?!