The answer is: "A hundred years of frozen iron, a thousand years of withered tree roots."
As expected, as expected... Xu Zhengyang laughed angrily: It still takes divine power, right?
The answer was: Yes.
Fuck you!
The answer is: The judgment book has no mother. From the perspective of its own attributes, the judge who holds the judgment book is the mother.
Xu Zhengyang: @@#@￥……※！ ！ ！ ！ ！ ！
In the poorly lit room, Xu Zhengyang lay on his back on the bed, his right hand gripping the jade case book. He repeatedly made gestures as if he wanted to throw it against the wall, but of course, he kept restraining himself from doing such an impulsive and foolish thing.
Xu Zhengyang was so annoyed because accumulating divine power was not easy, and with each promotion, he could feel a significant depletion of his divine power. This was especially true as he rose through the ranks, where the consumption of divine power increased. This left him feeling helpless, as whether or not he was promoted was not up to him, but rather determined by the jade stone's assessment of its divine power, a assessment that Xu Zhengyang himself did not know.
Especially... he was thinking of accumulating more divine power, hoping to reach the realm of an emperor and achieve immortality as soon as possible! What an alluring goal!
To achieve this goal, besides accumulating enough divine power and quickly getting promoted, there is another very important prerequisite: you must be alive and well... Everyone in this world will encounter many accidents, big and small, and a big accident can take your life. For example, if a bullet were to hit Xu Zhengyang's head today, he wouldn't even be able to live for another second, let alone achieve immortality.
To live a peaceful and safe life, and to avoid accidents as much as possible, especially intentional harm from outsiders, requires strength.
Given Xu Zhengyang's current status as a deity, he needs supernatural powers, even more powerful ones, and he needs to be promoted.
To get promoted, you need enough divine power...
It's back again, damn it.
Therefore, Xu Zhengyang was very annoyed that he had to expend divine power at the drop of a hat, especially since some extremely important supernatural powers required a lot of divine power.
Just as he was getting annoyed, Chen Chaojiang's voice suddenly rang out: "Zhengyang, what's wrong with you?"
As the voices were heard, Chen Chaojiang sat up, turned on the light, and his long, cold eyes revealed concern and a hint of tension.
"Huh? It's nothing," Xu Zhengyang replied.
Where's your box?
"I used it..."
Chen Chaojiang paused, not asking Xu Zhengyang what he intended to use it for. He was already a god; anything outrageous was to be expected: "That thing you have in your hand, is it a jade worth tens of millions?"
"Mm." Xu Zhengyang nodded with a smile.
"Go to sleep if you're alright." Chen Chaojiang didn't say anything more, turned off the light, and lay down.
Xu Zhengyang put away the verdict book and the judge's pen, thinking that he should make the verdict book come out from his left hand and the judge's pen from his right hand in the future, otherwise it wouldn't feel right! He wasn't like Chen Chaojiang, who was left-handed. Thinking about this, Xu Zhengyang picked up the cigarettes on the bedside table, took one out and lit it himself, and then tossed another one towards Chen Chaojiang in the darkness.
Soon, a lighter on the other end popped, and with a flickering flame, Chen Chaojiang lit the cigarette.
Xu Zhengyang muttered to himself: Is this guy's eyesight really that good? Or is it some kind of legendary martial arts skill—hearing sounds to pinpoint locations? Thus, Xu Zhengyang once again confirmed Chen Chaojiang's nature in his mind—abnormal.
"Zhengyang..."
"Um?"
Chen Chaojiang seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "Am I a very annoying person?"
"What are you saying? Go away..." Xu Zhengyang said with a smile.
“Actually, I understand everything in my heart, but I just can’t change it.” Chen Chaojiang sighed and said, “Everyone thinks I’m cold and aloof, but I’m the way my parents gave me. I have no bad intentions, I’ve never bullied anyone, I’ve never stolen, I’ve never robbed…”
Xu Zhengyang was stunned, listening silently to Chen Chaojiang speak. In his memory, Chen Chaojiang had never complained.
"You said I'm not suited for anything else... I'm very grateful, and not angry at all." Chen Chaojiang lay on his back on the bed, the red cigarette butt glistening in the darkness. "It's also my fault, I'm clumsy with words, and my face is scary enough, plus I'm stubborn..."
"Chaojiang, we're all brothers," Xu Zhengyang sighed softly.
"Actually, we all know in our hearts that the reason they're good to me and I'm good to them is because of you in the middle," Chen Chaojiang said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Sometimes I just don't understand why other people either hate me, annoy me, or are afraid of me... Why are you so good to me?"
Xu Zhengyang smiled and said, "We're compatible, aren't we?"
“I’m quite arrogant, incredibly arrogant…” Chen Chaojiang said softly, exhaling a puff of smoke, “Zhengyang, actually… many times, I’m also very scared.”
Xu Zhengyang remained silent. Chen Chaojiang's personality was such that fear made him increasingly violent and extreme in his actions.
"Zhengyang, I need to discuss something with you."
"Don't be so polite, okay? Damn... what's wrong with you today?" Xu Zhengyang forced a smile and joked.
Chen Chaojiang stood up, turned on the light, a serious smile on his pale face, and tears seemed to be glistening in his narrow eyes. He said stiffly, "Give me a raise. You don't need the money right now."
"How much do you want?" Xu Zhengyang asked.
"Five thousand a month."
"No problem," Xu Zhengyang agreed, then asked with a smile, "Why did you suddenly want a raise?"
Chen Chaojiang said coldly, "I need to find a reason for myself to listen to you from now on... You don't need to say anything else to persuade me. Actually, I'm just scared. If I listen to you, I can live a good life."
"Asagami, we are brothers..."
“These are two different things,” Chen Chaojiang said stubbornly.
Xu Zhengyang squinted, turned to look at Chen Chaojiang, and asked, "Is it because I'm a god that you're telling me all this?"
"no."
"Then give me a reason."
"You and I are brothers."
"Let's get a little complicated..." Xu Zhengyang smiled with satisfaction and said, "There will be a raise in the future..."
They stubbed out their cigarettes, turned off the lights, and lay down on the bed fully clothed in the dark room without saying another word.
Xu Zhengyang knew that Chen Chaojiang had finally come to a clear understanding of himself.
For Chen Chaojiang, this was all beneficial and without any drawbacks.
Wasn't the judge in Volume 3, Chapter 104, supposed to be about venting his anger?
Before dawn, my phone, which was on the bedside table, rang.
Still half asleep, Xu Zhengyang picked up his phone and glanced at it. It was a call from Zhong Zhijun. After answering, Xu Zhengyang lazily said:
"Hey, Zhijun, what are you doing so early? Aren't you going to sleep?"
"What are you sleeping for? Such a big incident has turned the whole bureau upside down! It's a shooting!" Zhong Zhijun said angrily. "You, the one who almost got killed, are sleeping soundly. I really admire you."
"Alright, alright, get to the point," Xu Zhengyang quickly said, thinking to himself, how could I not be able to sleep? At present, in Fuhe City, if not completely all-powerful, I can at least say that everything is under my control.
Zhong Zhijun said angrily, "The suspect vehicle has been found. It was found on a mountain road between Bu County and Feng City. The suspect escaped and the vehicle was burned. We initially suspect that they fled to Hexi Province."
"That's pointless." Xu Zhengyang scoffed.
"Hey Zhengyang, don't take my kindness for granted. I've been busy all night, so I'll let you know as soon as I have any news..." Zhong Zhijun said with dissatisfaction.
Xu Zhengyang chuckled awkwardly, "Alright, alright, go get some sleep. I'm fine, don't worry."
"Damn! Okay, I'm going to sleep. Oh right. You, Chaojiang, and Yao Chushun, come to the branch office again at nine o'clock to help draw a picture of the suspect's appearance. The station needs to make a map and put it online for arrest."
"Okay, I understand."
"Remember, I'm hanging up now..."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Zhengyang got up from the bed, stretched and yawned, and said to Chen Chaojiang, who was already sitting on the edge of the bed, "Those three guys who wanted to kill us ran into the mountains and set the car on fire... Zhijun just called, that kid has been busy all night without sleeping."
Chen Chaojiang said coldly, "Do you want to do it yourself?" He felt that Xu Zhengyang must know where the three people were, because he was a god.
"Want to vent your anger?" Xu Zhengyang laughed.
Chen Chaojiang paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I guess so."
"No problem." Xu Zhengyang waved his hand and said, "As long as they don't die, that's fine. We don't have the right to kill people; that's the police's job." As he spoke, Xu Zhengyang went to the washroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
Chen Chaojiang sat on the edge of the bed, a hint of doubt flashing in his slender eyes before his expression returned to its icy coldness.
That night, three of the parties involved tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Chen Chaojiang was one of them, but fortunately he managed to doze off for a while later; Yao Chushun was another, he was afraid that after he fell asleep, several masked assassins with guns would suddenly appear in Gu Xiang Xuan, point their guns at him, and make him never wake up again; and there was another one. That was Zou Mingyuan, the owner of Tian Bao Zhai.
If Xu Zhengyang's highly threatening words to Zou Mingyuan hadn't instilled even a trace of fear in him, then Chen Chaojiang's swift, meteor-like throwing knife truly sent a chill down Zou Mingyuan's spine. Zou Mingyuan could imagine: since he had been driven mad, willing to risk everything and hire gunmen to assassinate Yao Chushun and Xu Zhengyang in broad daylight, wouldn't Xu Zhengyang and Yao Chushun, having survived such a close call, also be enraged and make decisions that ordinary people wouldn't dare to make?
Moreover, there was a young man with a zombie-like face beside them, exuding a sinister and chilling aura. His skills were astonishing; even three assassins armed with pistols and confident of victory were instantly wounded and driven back by him. Especially his incredibly impressive throwing knife last night, which proved that if he wanted to kill Zou Mingyuan, the throwing knife was no less lethal than a pistol.
So Zou Mingyuan was filled with fear. At dawn, he picked up his phone, switched to a different SIM card, and dialed a number:
"Zeng Ping, have you arrived yet?"
"Mr. Zou, we've arrived. Don't worry."
"Think of a way. We must get to it in the next few days and get them taken care of..."
"Mr. Zou, the police are keeping a close eye on things now. We'll have to wait until this storm passes."
"I'll add another 100,000, and I'll get it done within three days."
After hesitating for a while, the person on the other end of the phone finally replied, "Okay! As per the rules, pay half the money first."
"Okay, the money will arrive this afternoon." Zou Mingyuan's eyes, hidden behind his gold-rimmed glasses, revealed a ruthless look. He turned off the phone, took out the card, broke it in half, and threw it into the wastebasket.
At this moment, not far away on the second floor of Gu Xiang Xuan, Xu Zhengyang was drinking tea and calmly comforting Yao Chushun.
Yao Chushun's triangular eyes had lost their former sparkle, becoming dull and gloomy, with dark circles under his eyes. The wrinkles on his face were even deeper, and his messy hair had many more white hairs than usual.
"Uncle Gu, put your mind at ease and stay calm." Xu Zhengyang smiled. "In less than three days, Zou Mingyuan will be finished."
Yao Chushun trembled upon hearing this and asked doubtfully, "Zhengyang, you wouldn't be thinking of... that's not good. I know there are many courageous people on your line, but... but we can't do that."
"I have no intention of hiring a hitman," Xu Zhengyang said with a smile, shaking his head. He then added, "Master Gu, how about slapping Zou Mingyuan a few times?"
"..."
Xu Zhengyang smiled and said, "It will give you a chance to vent your anger, hehe."
Yao Chushun stared blankly at Xu Zhengyang. He couldn't understand how Xu Zhengyang could remain so calm and confident. He was only twenty-one years old! Looking at Chen Chaojiang sitting silently in a chair next to him, posing as a classical beauty, Yao Chushun wondered if he wanted Chen Chaojiang to become an assassin.
Seemingly sensing Yao Chushun's gaze, Chen Chaojiang slightly raised his head and said calmly, "Have some self-respect, okay?"
"Ahem." Yao Chushun blushed and lowered his head.
Being spoken to so disdainfully by a young man, even someone as thick-skinned as Yao Chushun would feel somewhat embarrassed and ashamed. After this incident, when truly faced with a life-threatening situation, Yao Chushun indeed lost his backbone and courage. Although his anger and hatred grew stronger, he couldn't bring himself to act as recklessly as Zou Mingyuan. In this respect, he was indeed, as Chen Chaojiang said, spineless.
Chen Chaojiang lowered his head and continued carving the locust wood. He had already finished carving the face and head of the classical beauty, and he began to carve the body.
Xu Zhengyang held the teacup, lowered his head slightly, and gently blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface.
Xu Zhengyang knew everything about the phone call between Zou Mingyuan and the assassin named Zeng Ping. So, Xu Zhengyang was thinking to himself, "Sometimes, you really can't be indecisive. You have to be decisive, otherwise, hesitation will only lead to more trouble."