Daily Intelligence System: Don't Kill Me, Honey!

The messenger at this moment pulled a long face and said, ”Zhang Tong, Zhang Tong has betrayed us!”

Hearing this, Tuotuo’s eyes widened. ”Zhang Tong, Zhang Tong has betrayed us?”

”Yeah, the sentries at the East City Gate just reported: Zhang Tong was talked over by the other side with just a few words, then knelt to welcome Hama into the city. Hama has already entered the city now!”

Smack!

Tuotuo collapsed into the chair on his ass, his head buzzing. This stab in the back from Zhang Tong really hurt, hurt so much Tuotuo almost fainted.

Seeing Tuotuo like this, the Deputy General beside him flared up in anger and said, ”That damned Zhang Tong actually turned on his master. Prime Minister, I’ll go butcher him!”

Seeing the Deputy General all fired up, Tuotuo raised his hand to stop him, then turned to the messenger and asked, ”Where are Hama and his men now?”

Hearing that, the messenger said, ”They went straight for the Imperial Palace. Right now they should be on the way to the Imperial Palace.”

After hearing the messenger, Hama pondered for a moment and said, ”The die is cast. Nothing can be undone now.”

Once he finished, the Deputy General at the side said, ”Prime Minister, so we’re just going to watch Hama go before His Majesty and sue us?”

Tuotuo replied, ”Or what, you plan to assassinate the sitting Right Minister in the middle of the street?”

The Deputy General paused, not daring to speak further. At this point Tuotuo said, ”As things stand, there’s nothing left that can be salvaged. Since that’s the case, we can only leave it to fate!”

Speaking to this point, Tuotuo fell silent for a moment, then said, ”Pass my order: the auspicious hour has arrived. We can proceed with the beheading of the Little Ming King.”

”Huh? Prime Minister, the fire’s already licking our eyebrows and you still have the mind to supervise the execution of the Little Ming King?”

The Deputy General couldn’t make sense of Tuotuo’s thinking.

Tuotuo said, ”The more urgent it is, the less we can panic. Panic breeds mistakes. It hasn’t yet reached the point of irreparable. Whatever Hama accuses me of, does he have evidence?”

”If he wants to accuse me without evidence, that’s called slander.”

”I am the dignified Left Minister of a realm. How can I be so cowed by his offensive that I don’t even have time to supervise the execution of a court-condemned criminal? What, am I supposed to be afraid of him?”

Seeing Tuotuo like this, the Deputy General had nothing to say; he could only urge the people outside to hurry up and get on with supervising the execution of the human trafficker.

Once the Deputy General and everyone else had left, Tuotuo suddenly slumped, his face pale.

The news of Zhang Tong’s betrayal was like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky to Tuotuo. This was the first defector from his own Prime Minister’s Mansion, and once there’s a first, can the second, third, fourth be far behind?

Thinking of this, Tuotuo’s expression turned extremely ugly.

It was as if he could already see the great edifice about to collapse.

Meanwhile, outside, Tuotuo’s Deputy General looked at the messenger beside him and asked, ”When did you start following the Prime Minister?”

”Three years ago.”

”Been following him three years now. Want to make your mark, build some military merits?”

The messenger said, ”With my paltry skills, only at Energy Transformation level, how would I ever have the chance to make any great contribution?”

”Hey now, that’s not how you should put it. As the saying goes, achievements don’t depend on age. All you need is a loyal heart for your lord. You may only be at Energy Transformation, but you still have a chance to earn merit.”

The messenger looked at the Deputy General. ”Is that what General means?”

”You go and get rid of Hama!”

”Huh? Me?!!”

The messenger’s eyes went wide. He stared at Hama in disbelief—just listen to what he’s saying: me, take out Hama?

The Deputy General looked at him and said, ”Kid, how are you still not getting it? That Hama has never even trained in martial arts, while you have Energy Transformation strength. Killing him would be like wringing a chicken’s neck. Think about it: as long as you get close to him and then—slice—one cut, you’ve rendered great service!”

”By then you’ll be one of the Prime Minister’s top favorites. Future wealth and honor—how could you possibly miss out? Think about it, does that make sense?”

The Deputy General patiently coaxed him. The messenger looked at the Deputy General and said, ”Lord, you’re really making things hard for me. You want me to go to the Imperial Palace and kill someone? Spare me. I’ll probably be cut down on Vermilion Bird Street the moment I get there!”

Hearing this, the Deputy General looked at the messenger and said, ”This once-in-a-lifetime chance to show what you can do, why don’t you know how to cherish it?”

The messenger said, ”General, I was born under a poor star. Good days like that, I’m afraid I’m not meant to enjoy them. General, you’d better find someone else!”

Hearing this, the Deputy General shook his head. ”Fine, go on then. Don’t say I never gave you a leg up when a good opportunity came.”

The messenger said, ”Then I thank General.”

Once he finished, the Deputy General waved him off. The messenger ran off at once—this was treating him like Bo Benba for sport.

Watching the messenger leave, the Deputy General turned back to glance at the house where Tuotuo was and muttered, ”Truly, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Now we can’t even gull a mere messenger. Looks like I need to think of another way. Can’t hang myself on just this one tree.”

Thinking this, the Deputy General slipped away without a sound, muttering, ”When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Looks like Tuotuo’s big tree can’t be relied on. That Zhang Tong kid is the clever one—opened the East Gate, let Hama owe him a personal favor. That way he can transition smoothly. Really a smart man. No, I’ve got to find Zhang Tong, get him to pull me up too!”

As the saying goes, a fine bird chooses a good tree to perch in. Seeing Tuotuo’s big tree about to topple, how could everyone not start sensing danger.

Tuotuo was alone in the room, digesting the anxiety in his heart, silently warning himself that he’d weathered so many storms already; this time was just another test.

As for the Deputy General and the others’ thoughts, Tuotuo actually could understand them. He even knew that behind his back they would certainly be up to some little tricks.

There’s a saying: how you come is how you go.

What it means is, whatever means you used to draw these people in, in the future that’s the very way you’ll lose them.