Chapter 1058: Gambling Table

A council meeting in the General's Office was, in truth, not all that different from usual.

The only difference was probably that, during this meeting, whenever the Northern Frontier generals put forward their opinions, they would intentionally or unintentionally look at the expression of that young martial artist.

Although they clearly knew that the one making the final decision was the Great General, for some reason, they all seemed to want to hear what that young martial artist thought.

Chen Chao still spoke very little.

He was like a guest who had come from afar and done many things for the host, so much so that without this guest, the host's household would have fallen apart. Yet, after doing all those things, he still remained just as courteous, not acting as though his merits were so great that the host had to bring out their finest wine.

Ning Ping looked at Chen Chao and asked a question that everyone present was deeply concerned about.

"The next time the demon race attacks the city, how many Fuyuns will they have? On our side..."

After Ning Ping asked this question, all of the Northern Frontier generals present looked toward Chen Chao, except Xie Nandu.

In the previous great battle, the deciding factor in the end had been whether those three Fuyun great demons could reach the city wall. Without Chen Chao, it was truly difficult to say what the outcome would have been.

But since three Fuyun great demons had already appeared in the demon race's first assault, then there would certainly be more the second time. What if three or even four Fuyun great demons appeared the second time, or even more?

How would Great Liang respond?

Great Liang had Chen Chao, but it also seemed that Great Liang only had Chen Chao.

Chen Chao glanced at Ning Ping, then at the Northern Frontier generals present, before raising his hand, picking up his teacup, and slowly taking a sip.

The atmosphere was very tense, because everyone present was very tense.

They wanted an answer, but they were all afraid that the answer would be a bad one.

After drinking the tea, Chen Chao smacked his lips and smiled. "The tea is pretty good."

Gao Xuan had been holding his breath the whole time, but after hearing Chen Chao's words, he felt half the breath leave him. Just as he was about to glare at Chen Chao, he heard a woman's voice.

"Enough."

That female general glared at Chen Chao with slight annoyance.

After this word was spoken, the atmosphere immediately became much more relaxed. Those generals who knew about their relationship all smiled knowingly.

Ning Ping sighed. "Damn it, now that official rank doesn't matter anymore, I can't keep you in line, you punk. Looking at you really pisses me off."

Chen Chao smiled faintly before finally saying, "The Sword Sect's Sect Master was only recovering from his injuries this time. By the next battle, he'll probably have come out of seclusion and made it here. Apart from the Sect Master, there should also be another two or three."

After a pause, Chen Chao looked around but did not see Yu Xiyi anywhere, then continued, "And that fellow Yun Jianyue. When the next battle starts, I reckon he'll be a Fuyun cultivator."

Those words could only be said behind Yu Xiyi's back. If Yu Xiyi were here, that great sword immortal would definitely be hopping mad.

He would not do something that would hurt the friendship between brothers.

The young temple master of the Infatuation Daoist Temple was expected to become a Fuyun cultivator. To these Great Liang generals, that was both good and bad news, so hearing this did not make them particularly happy.

Chen Chao noticed their emotions and smiled to reassure them. "Everyone, don't think so far ahead for now. The most important thing is how to keep this Northern Frontier Great Wall from falling. As for what comes afterward, if this official is still alive, then this official will naturally deal with it. As for if this official dies... there will probably be someone else."

When he said the latter part, Chen Chao glanced at Xie Nandu. He truly did not want to talk about things like life and death in front of her, and even felt somewhat regretful for having said those things just now.

But the other generals were encouraged by Chen Chao's words and nodded. What happened to the foreign lands, it was truly not something they should be considering now. At this moment, the first priority was still the demon race to the north.

"What about the Demon Emperor?"

What everyone, including Ning Ping, was most curious about was whether the Demon Emperor would personally take action in the next battle. In a war of this scale, it seemed only natural that the lord of all demons, who had never before appeared on the battlefield, would make an appearance.

But if the Demon Emperor appeared, then the situation would certainly become even more difficult.

Chen Chao looked at Ning Ping somewhat helplessly, let out a breath of turbid air, and said calmly, "If he appears on the battlefield, I will fight him."

Chen Chao said nothing else, because saying anything more here would not seem solemn enough.

The Demon Emperor was now publicly acknowledged as the strongest powerhouse in the world.

Even if Chen Chao now said he could kill the Demon Emperor, these generals would not necessarily believe him.

However, since Chen Chao had previously driven the Demon Emperor out of Great Liang's territory, they naturally still had confidence in Chen Chao.

Chen Chao looked around, then finally picked up his tea and smiled. "Normally, after a great battle ends, a victory banquet should be held. But no one knows when the demon race will attack the city again, so we'll forgo the victory banquet. There's no way to drink our fill either, so this official will use tea in place of wine to offer a toast to everyone." "It's also to tell everyone this: as for the matters on this battlefield, this official will have to trouble you all to put in more effort. As for the matters on the other battlefield, this official will do my best to make sure you don't have to worry about them."

After saying that, Chen Chao finished the tea in one gulp, then glanced at Xie Nandu.

......

......

The General's Office meeting ended. Ning Ping tacitly gave Xie Nandu a day off. Originally, at this time, several of the important generals in the General's Office should have held another smaller meeting, but since Chen Chao was here, there was no harm in postponing it.

Watching Xie Nandu and Chen Chao walk out of the General's Office together, Ning Ping patted Gao Xuan on the shoulder without saying a word. Gao Xuan, meanwhile, sincerely remarked, "A talented man and a beautiful woman."

Ning Ping smiled and said, "I don't know why, but every time this kid comes to the Northern Frontier, I feel much more at ease."

Gao Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps that's the Lord Warden Commander's unique personal charisma?"

Ning Ping smiled. "If you ask me whether he has any charisma, I don't think so. Back in the Divine Capital, who knows how many people hated this fellow? But now, most of them probably don't hate him anymore. Those who still do probably can only keep their mouths shut and watch."

At this point, Ning Ping sighed with vicissitudes of emotion. "It's obviously only been these past few years, so why does it always feel like such a long, long time has passed?"

Gao Xuan actually understood. Over these past few years in the Northern Frontier, Ning Ping had worried day and night, and his days had truly not been easy.

Only when a person's days are difficult do they feel that time passes especially slowly.

"I'm getting old, getting old. But I still hope I can do something. Just watching these young people finish everything while old fellows like us can't do anything, that feeling isn't pleasant."

Ning Ping rubbed his aching lower back, then turned and walked into the distance. Of the three peerless martial artists of that era, he was the only one left.

So he seemed somewhat lonely.

Gao Xuan looked at Ning Ping's back and also said nothing.

Meanwhile, in a narrow alley within the city, the young man and woman walked forward slowly. The alley was just wide enough for the two of them to walk side by side.

Neither of them was in a hurry to speak.

After who knew how long, the woman finally said, "You can even kill Fuyun now."

As she spoke, she actually thought of Tianqing County all those years ago, thought of the barbecue by the bridge, and thought of the badly peeling pillar in that little courtyard.

"It's been almost ten years, hasn't it?"

Chen Chao thought for a moment, calculated the time, and smiled. "Still another year or two short, but if we're not being so precise, then it's been ten years."

He naturally knew that the woman was talking about the time since they had met, but in truth, even over these seven or eight years, the number of times they had seen each other could be counted on one's fingers.

Most of the time, one of them was in the Divine Capital, while the other was somewhere else in the world.

The companionship of ordinary married couples, together from morning until night, seemed never to have existed for them.

But in the end, the two of them were not husband and wife yet.

Chen Chao smiled. "I've still done quite a lot over these years."

Xie Nandu nodded. "Not only have you done so many things, but they were all difficult things, and you did them all very well."

Xie Nandu turned to look at the face of the young man beside her and shook her head. "Back in Tianqing County, I thought that one day you might make something of yourself, but I never imagined you would reach where you are today."

"That just means you lacked vision."

Chen Chao reached out and pulled up a foxtail grass by the roadside, then looked provocatively at the woman before him.

Xie Nandu merely pulled the foxtail grass from his mouth and held it between her own lips.

That scene became a different kind of scenery in Chen Chao's eyes.

Chen Chao reached out and picked another foxtail grass, put it in his mouth, felt the bitterness spreading through it, then said softly, "Can you stop putting yourself on the gambling table?"

Xie Nandu smiled. "But I don't want to put you on the gambling table either."