Ai Suo was an orphan.
In a place like Sanbianpo, what did orphan mean?
An orphanage?
Don't be ridiculous.
Orphan meant – if no one was willing to give you a bite to eat, you wouldn't live long.
The wild dogs here would eat people.
But Ai Suo was lucky enough.
He found a tapir.
Tapirs were considered sacred creatures that represented auspiciousness in the region.
Thus.
After much deliberation.
Ai Suo gifted the tapir to the then-ruler of the region, Nanbo Army General Ban Long.
He also met a very resourceful woman – Mala Nian.
It was also with the help of Mala Nian.
That Ai Suo, leveraging Ban Long's power, established his own armed force – the Orphan Army, by taking in orphans in Maniucheng.
Some might ask, how could a bunch of half-grown children have any fighting ability?
But.
In a place like Sanbianpo.
Don't expect any strict training, absolute military discipline.
As long as they were ruthless, ruthless towards themselves and their enemies, they would naturally possess fighting ability.
Just so happens that half-grown children were at the age of being lawless, reckless, and prone to fighting.
After acquiring an armed force.
Mala Nian helped Ai Suo connect with a renowned great Zen master – Ukamaha.
As a Buddhist state, monks held an unusual status in Chanzhou.
With the backing of a great Zen master.
Ai Suo began operating a cattle trading business.
Cattle were also considered a type of sacred beast in the region, and no one could do this business without the Zen master's personal blessing.
Of course, with greed and lust, some would naturally sneakily sell cattle.
This is when the Orphan Army would make their appearance.
The dried corpses that Cai Shu and the others encountered along the way were the fate of those smugglers.
Through this chain of actions.
Ai Suo successfully became the controller of Maniucheng.
He even used the money he earned to maintain a mountain road that was previously opened by a caravan – the Caravan Path.
This was also a path located outside the war-torn and blockaded area, a path that Cai Shu and President Chen both coveted.
Thus, around the transport rights of this path, arose a series of conflicts.
Cooperation, betrayal, selling out, being sold out, collusion, murder, and so on and so forth.
It was the eternal melody of this land.
It was played out repeatedly, generation after generation.
The winner takes all, basking in the sun, enjoying flowers, applause, compliments from others, and worldly power.
The loser eats dust, rotting in an unknown corner, forgotten by the world.
Ai Suo, he wanted to be the former.
So, even though he knew that his wife of more than ten years was having an affair with the Zen master's secretary behind his back.
He remained calm and almost completely obeyed her.
He took her everywhere he went, as if they were truly a loving couple.
And at this moment, the couple simultaneously bowed to Chen Tai.
"Greetings, Master Tai."
Both of them showed a devout appearance.
But Chen Tai, who received the bow, sneered in his heart.
‘How black are your foreheads? How can you pretend so well? ’
Indeed, in his eyes, the foreheads of these two were simply covered in dark clouds.
On Director Ai's forehead, there was also a touch of emerald green, like a jade raw stone that had been opened up with a window to reveal a full emerald.
Chen Tai then looked behind them.
He saw a well-spoken, monk-dressed young man also bowing to him with joined palms.
It was Chapper, the secretary of the great Zen master Ukamaha, who resided in the temple on the mountaintop.
He was also the proxy of the great Zen master, who resided in Maniucheng.
Mala Nian's lover.
"This group of people really play around."
Chen Tai thought to himself.
But outwardly, he still bowed with joined palms.
"Greetings, esteemed couple."
On the way, Cai Shu had laid out all his plans.
Maniucheng now had two forces.
Ai Suo.
And the restless Mala Nian, along with her little lover Chapper.
The two forces were entangled, you in me, I in you.
Mala Nian felt that Ai Suo was nothing more than an orphan who relied on luck to find a tapir and get Ban Long's backing.
She believed that without her, Ai Suo was nothing.
After all, it was her idea to raise the Orphan Army, support the great Zen master, and so on.
To this end, she cheated, colluded with Chapper, and interfered with Cai Shu and Ai Suo's cooperation.
If Cai Shu hadn't offered the "Spirit Elixir" to appease her, perhaps the group would still be arguing over the share of the profits.
And what about Ai Suo?
He was well aware of this.
But the combination of Mala Nian + Chapper hit his weakness.
After all, Chapper was the secretary of the great Zen master.
And his earliest backer – Ban Long, was currently preoccupied.
Therefore, this man, even though he knew he was wearing a green hat, had to endure until now.
However, he wasn't a pushover either.
Among those orphans, who knows how many were his illegitimate children, raised under the guise of orphans.
"He's really quite a character," Cai Shu introduced.
So, next, Chen Tai needed to make a choice.
Support whom?
In any case, no matter who he supported, Cai Shu would take advantage of the weakened party and swoop in.
Help Chen Tai take over Maniucheng.
As his token of loyalty, his submission to "Master Tai."
That's right.
After seeing the grand vision Chen Tai painted for him.
Cai Shu's choice was decisive.
He, Cai Shu, was born a man of "Master Tai,"
And in death, he would also be a man of "Master Tai."
It's still the same old saying.
If you could go to Longguo and become a respectable person.
Who would bother being stuck in Sanbianpo, delivering border water?
In Cai Shu's mind, many plans were already brewing.
Not just Maniucheng.
But also Xiaomolun.
Daqulin.
Mokou Mountain.
And even further, even further, Moduler.
Even the entire Chanzhou.
All were within his long-term plans.
He didn't care why "Master Tai" didn't return to Longguo.
But since "Master Tai" wanted to build a foundation in Sanbianpo.
Cai Shu would put in all his effort and skill.
"Director Ai, Master Tai has been acquainted with the great Zen master for a long time, and he came here specifically to visit him."
Cai Shu said with a smile.
And with his words.
Including Ai Suo, Mala Nian, and Chapper, their expressions all changed.
Unconsciously, their gazes focused on Chen Tai.
Visit the great Zen master?
This was not a good sign!
But they were all people of substance.
Ai Suo immediately began calculating in his mind.
For him, it didn't really matter whether he supported Ukamaha, the great Zen master, or some other master.
What mattered was having a master to back his power.
Considering his wife's relationship with Chapper.
Supporting the "Master Tai" before him was clearly a better choice.
But this would bring in the Dabang force.
On the one hand, his wife and her lover were becoming more and more insatiable, using the great Zen master to suppress him.
On the other hand, the coming "Master Tai" with his armed force, Cai Shu and his men.
He was truly torn.
It was better to sit on the fence and see how things played out.
So he instructed, "Chapper, please go take a look."
Passing the problem to Chapper.
Ai Suo then said, "This time Lanbo was able to come back alive, thanks to the rescue efforts of the disciples of the great master. May I personally thank them?"
Finding another excuse to draw closer to the great master.
Chen Tai naturally didn't refuse.
So he called out for Bazigo.
But what was unexpected.
As soon as Bazigo entered.
His Buddha-pattern tattoos and tight muscles caught the eye of one person.
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