After dinner in the Fengshen Palace.
When Chang Haojie learned that he would be following his brother-in-law to the battlefield, he was both excited and terrified. Going to the battlefield was always thrilling, after all, only those who walked off the battlefield were true men. To stand firm on the battlefield after witnessing bloodshed and storms, such people were bound to be admired. However, the battlefield was extremely perilous; what if even a small accident occurred, turning it into a lifelong painful lesson?
Shen Feng said to Chang Haojie, "What are you afraid of? I'll protect you and guarantee you won't get hurt. Besides the mutated birds in the sky, no mutated beast can threaten me!"
Shen Feng spoke with absolute confidence. Ground-based mutated beasts or zombies could no longer pose a threat to him. The only thing that left Shen Feng powerless was the mutated birds in the sky; attacks from the sky were what Shen Feng found most difficult to deal with.
Upon hearing this, Chang Haojie was immediately relieved. As long as his brother-in-law was by his side, he would be safe and sound, wouldn't he? After all, his brother-in-law was one of the Ten Heroes, a man known as the unyielding grass in the wind, whose strength ranked among the top ten globally!
"Then I'll go say goodbye to my friends at the orphanage. If I don't tell them, they might worry about me," Chang Haojie suddenly said.
Shen Feng nodded, agreeing to Chang Haojie's decision, and he also remembered something and prepared to head to the City Lord's mansion.
When Shen Feng arrived at the City Lord's mansion, he saw Lu Xian waiting. Beside Lu Xian was a strange woman. Lu Xian looked very anxious, his brows furrowed, while the woman beside him appeared calm and composed. She wore a dress with a fox fur shawl on her shoulders, and her every move exuded a noble and elegant aura.
Shen Feng had been summoned to the City Lord's mansion by Lu Xian for an urgent matter. Shen Feng usually disliked strolling after dinner, but Lu Xian had called saying it was a matter of utmost urgency, which was why Shen Feng rushed to the City Lord's mansion after eating to see what important business it was.
Upon seeing Shen Feng, Lu Xian gritted his teeth and pointed to the woman beside him, saying, "City Lord, I'm getting married, to her!"
Shen Feng frowned upon hearing this, not expecting Lu Xian to have called him over just to discuss this matter.
Shen Feng took a deep breath, calming the slight unruliness in his heart. He opened his drawer, took out two stacks of food coupons, and said earnestly, "Since that's the case, I'll contribute something. Although it's not much, please don't mind."
Shen Feng had never expected that Lu Xian would bring up such a trivial matter right before the expedition. Getting married was fine, but coming to ask for wedding gifts was going too far. With the expedition approaching and the busyness of food, firearms, and organizational matters, while he was busy processing documents all day, he had to waste some time on Lu Xian's wedding.
However, Shen Feng still didn't lash out. Although Lu Xian lacked tact, he was at least a good brother, someone he had fought alongside on the battlefield, and couldn't be scolded casually. He might as well give the wedding gift and be done with it.
Seeing the food coupons Shen Feng handed over, Lu Xian frowned and asked, "What does this mean?"
"A token of my regard."
"City Lord, this isn't enough!"
"It would be meaningless if I didn't give anything."
After some back and forth, Lu Xian still accepted the food coupons. It was an unexpected delight, he hadn't anticipated such a gain.
At this moment, the woman beside them also gracefully walked over, bowed to Shen Feng, and then said, "City Lord, long time no see. It seems your charisma has not diminished over the years. I am here to apologize for my past ignorance; please forgive me."
Shen Feng was puzzled when he saw this noblewoman bow to him and apologize, "Uh, do we know each other?"
A hint of embarrassment appeared on the woman's face; she hadn't expected Shen Feng to forget her. She could only patiently say, "City Lord, we have met before. At that time, I didn't know Lu Xian yet, and we had a bit of a conflict. After a day and a night, you left without a word one morning. I wonder if you still remember?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng immediately became agitated and pointed at the woman, "Don't talk nonsense. I never go to those messy places, and I've never seen you. Don't falsely accuse me."
Shen Feng sensed something was amiss. The other party had said something so easily misunderstood. If his senior sister found out, wouldn't he be in dire straits? The thought of possibly having to kneel and write a self-criticism on a washboard sent shivers of fear through him.
Seeing Shen Feng's misunderstanding, Lu Xian quickly explained, "City Lord, you've misunderstood. Listen to me."
It turned out that the woman beside Lu Xian was named Hong Yehui, whom Shen Feng had met when he went to Xiang'an City. At that time, Hong Yehui had led dozens of employees to cause trouble, intending to give Shen Feng a hard time. However, Yu Renshu had intervened and given Hong Yehui a good thrashing, after which Hong Yehui had conceded and left.
Later, Hong Yehui made her way to Yuzhou. Although paper money had become worthless, she was still the daughter of a wealthy family. Besides money, her family had a lot of gold and silver, which she exchanged for food coupons, ensuring she could live comfortably.
However, living off her savings was not a good idea; even a large amount of food coupons would eventually run out. So, Hong Yehui targeted a market: education. In Yuzhou, apart from the orphanage, children spent their days doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and playing on the streets, with no opportunity to study.
Therefore, Hong Yehui found a group of university students, regardless of whether they had specialized in education, rented a venue, and began recruiting. Many parents, considering their children's future, sent them to private schools, and Hong Yehui made a fortune.
Lu Xian couldn't find a suitable wife, so he asked Lin Yue for recommendations, mainly because Lin Yue had the most comprehensive information in Yuzhou, making him a reliable source.
Lin Yue wasn't familiar with Lu Xian before, but it was difficult to refuse directly. After much thought, he introduced Lu Xian to Hong Yehui. Upon meeting her, Lu Xian was captivated. This woman was not only knowledgeable but also played the piano. Wasn't such a woman his dream partner? Educated, sensible, and sharing his interests!
However, when Lu Xian inquired further, he discovered that Hong Yehui had a past conflict with the City Lord. Although the City Lord seemed to have forgotten about it, it would be problematic if Hong Yehui appeared before him in the future and angered him.
In Yuzhou, the person least to be offended was Shen Feng. Shen Feng generally didn't hold grudges, but once he did, he never forgot. Shen Feng didn't need to act personally; his subordinates would naturally eliminate Shen Feng's thorns in his side.
Thus, after much deliberation, Lu Xian realized that this matter couldn't be hidden forever. It was better to tell the truth now. If he could gain Shen Feng's forgiveness, that would be great. If Shen Feng had truly forgotten, it would demonstrate his loyalty. Where else could he find such a good opportunity?
After hearing their explanation, Shen Feng finally remembered. Indeed, there had been such an incident. Yu Renshu was still by his side at the time, so Shen Feng didn't hit women. Instead, he had Yu Renshu teach the other party a lesson. Later, he had to go to Rongcheng for battle, and he forgot about it. He hadn't expected Hong Yehui to end up back in Yuzhou.
"Lu Xian, you're worrying about nothing. I'm not a petty man. Since you've found your beloved, I congratulate you and wish you a happy union. However, we're departing in three days, so it would be best to hold your wedding sooner." Shen Feng said with a smile.
Lu Xian nodded and said earnestly, "I understand. Thank you for your blessings, City Lord."
After Lu Xian clarified the matter, he left the City Lord's mansion with his fiancée. He needed to prepare for the wedding. Although it was the apocalypse and supplies were scarce, he had saved a lot of food coupons over the past six months, so holding a grand wedding was still feasible.
Before leaving the office, Hong Yehui suddenly looked back at Shen Feng. The guilt on her face vanished, replaced by an icy expression. She stared coldly at Shen Feng, who was processing documents, her expression suggesting that her visit was far from an apology.
Shen Feng sensed something and quickly looked up, only to see Hong Yehui turning back, smiling and nodding at him before leaving the City Lord's mansion.
"Did I misjudge? For a moment, I sensed killing intent!" Shen Feng muttered to himself.
After more than a year of combat, Shen Feng had also developed a powerful intuition. This intuition allowed him to sense danger, and although it was vague, it often proved useful. Shen Feng believed this strange intuition was related to brainwaves. As long as a person was thinking, their neural potential would change. Zhang Xixi's ability was specifically to detect these changes and thus detect whether someone was lying.
Shen Feng shook his head and continued reviewing documents. It wasn't until dark that Shen Feng left his office.
On his way home, Shen Feng saw Chang Haojie's figure at the orphanage. Out of curiosity, he changed his route and headed towards the orphanage. To avoid attracting attention, Shen Feng put on sunglasses and a mask.
Chang Haojie was standing by a swing, on which a girl about ten years old was sitting. She had a young and tender face and wore the orphanage's uniform. Chang Haojie was pushing the swing with a silly grin, and the two were chatting and laughing.
Seeing this scene, Shen Feng felt uneasy and couldn't help but murmur to himself, "Still worried about his lifelong commitment? Can't he handle it himself?"
Shen Feng realized that his senior sister's efforts to matchmake his younger brother and Zhang Xixi had completely failed. Chang Haojie wasn't truly as foolish as a block of wood. During this time, Chang Haojie had found a girl he liked. No wonder he kept running to the orphanage; he had found someone he liked there.
"Chang Haojie, will you be in danger when you go to the battlefield this time?" the girl asked the boy pushing the swing behind her.
Chang Haojie said confidently, "Don't worry, I'm an ability user. I'll be invincible on the battlefield. Never mind those strange mutated beasts in the mountains. Back in Jiangyang, I managed to retreat from a zombie tide of 300,000 people unscathed. My strength is far greater than others!"
"Wow, you're amazing!" the girl exclaimed, filled with admiration. She envied Chang Haojie's current status and his abilities at such a young age.
Hearing the girl's exclamation, Chang Haojie's vanity was satisfied, and he continued to boast, "Do you know why I'm going to fight in the south? It's because I'm my brother-in-law's right-hand man. Without me, the war would have suffered immense losses. But as long as I'm by his side, any danger can be resolved!"
"Then you must come back safely. Can we play games together then?" the girl quickly said.
Chang Haojie patted his chest and promised that he would return safely.
Shen Feng, hearing Chang Haojie's bragging from a distance, couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
During the defense of Jiangyang, Chang Haojie had indeed achieved a decapitation strike. However, if he hadn't been lucky enough to hang on a lamppost at the time, he would be dead by now. He was recounting this event as if he were Zhao Zilong fighting his way through Changban slope seven times, only his focus was completely different.
"Forget it, I'll just go home. I won't disturb his pursuit of his girlfriend," Shen Feng said helplessly, shaking his head, and turned to leave the orphanage.
Shen Feng's speed was remarkable, and climbing over the orphanage's wall was simple. He could do it with a single leap, so no one knew Shen Feng had been there.
Shen Feng had discussed the upcoming expedition with his subordinates, and the tactics had been successfully formulated. They were just waiting for the personnel to be complete before they could depart. By rough estimation, Shen Feng's forces, including mercenaries, would number around 100,000, which would be just enough to clear the forests.