Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Chapter 1116 The Little Celestial Master's Prestige, Zhang Huaiyi's Plan

Li Yunlong's heart skipped a beat, sensing something was wrong, but he quickly plastered on his signature goofy grin:

"Hehe, brigade commander, didn't I... didn't I serve as the factory manager of the clothing factory for a few days a few days ago?"

The brigade commander glared at Li Yunlong: "Hmph, you really have a way with things. But let me tell you, don't follow the old path when you're wearing new clothes. As the old saying goes, 'Shame is the mother of courage,' so I'm counting on you all."

After saying that, he took the bowl from Kong Jie's hand, brought it close to his nose, and a spicy smell shot straight to the top of his head.

"Damn it, how could it be alcohol?"

The brigade commander was a soldier who was extremely strict with himself. He didn't smoke, drink, or play cards, chess, or any other recreational activities. Everyone in the brigade knew this.

"Hehe, brigade commander, it's freezing cold, water isn't something to drink right now," Li Yunlong said with a forced smile.

The brigade commander looked at the strong liquor in the bowl, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly raised his head: "Alright, then I'll drink your Independent Regiment's victory celebration wine in advance, watch me."

After saying that, the brigade commander picked up the wine bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp!

"Dry!"

The other soldiers also tilted their heads back and drank the fiery liquor in their bowls in one gulp!

Afterwards, the brigade commander left Yangcun with his bodyguards. Lü Ci also completed the handover and returned to the brigade headquarters.

Upon returning to the brigade headquarters, the brigade commander immediately appointed a new political commissar for the Independent Regiment. Because Li Yunlong was a rough and uncultured man, the brigade commander specially assigned him a top student who had graduated from Yenching University to serve as the political commissar, and sent Lü Ci to escort him there.

Lu Ci immediately accepted the mission, but on the way to escort the new political commissar to the Independent Regiment, they encountered a special situation.

As they traveled along a secluded mountain path, they suddenly heard a burst of gunfire coming from ahead. Lü Ci immediately became alert, placing his hand on the ground and using his Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical technique) to detect the sound waves.

He quickly pinpointed the source of the gunfire. He and a few soldiers crept over quietly and discovered a group of puppet troops frantically chasing a ragged prisoner.

Without saying a word, Lü Ci unleashed several powerful strikes from a distance, cleanly and efficiently eliminating the group of puppet soldiers and rescuing the prisoner.

On the way, Zhao Gang and Lü Ci briefly inquired about the prisoner's situation and discovered that the prisoner was actually an extraordinary person from Shaolin Temple.

In recent years, when the country was in peril, many extraordinary people fought against the Japanese pirates, and the monks of Shaolin Temple were no exception. Wei Dayong was one of them.

After leaving the mountain, he joined the army, fought many tough battles, and killed many Japanese pirates. However, during this major battle, he was outnumbered and captured.

He was imprisoned in a very special prisoner-of-war camp. The Japanese pirates who imprisoned him were not in a hurry to kill him, but wanted to force him to reveal the Shaolin Temple's cultivation methods.

Wei Dayong was naturally unwilling to surrender, so the Japanese pirates used him as a sparring partner for their own extraordinary individuals, trying to discover more secrets of Shulin martial arts in battle, and at the same time using him as a whetstone to hone their skills.

But Wei Dayong was a ruthless character. He pretended to be innocent during the sparring session, but when the time came, he suddenly launched an attack, outmaneuvering the Japanese pirates and killing several of them before escaping.

Originally, those Japanese pirates and other strange people had been chasing him, but after reaching a certain area, they realized that this was the territory of the Shenzhou army, so they retreated out of caution, leaving only a group of puppet troops still chasing him.

Upon hearing this news, both Lü Ci and Zhao Gang's expressions instantly became extremely serious!

The two exchanged a glance, both realizing the seriousness of the situation.

The two immediately decided to speed things up and bring the man safely back to the Independent Regiment. They would discuss the more important matters after they met Li Yunlong!

Before long, they arrived at the Independent Regiment's camp.

When Li Yunlong saw Zhao Gang's refined and scholarly appearance, he didn't give him a good look and muttered to himself, "Damn it, another pale-faced scholar who only knows how to talk about war on paper?"

But Li Yunlong, though he grumbles and curses, never hesitates to do what needs to be done.

He keenly sensed that the intelligence Zhao Gang brought was of great importance, and quickly summoned key personnel such as Kong Jie, Zhang Huaiyi, and Tian Jinzhong.

They had just seen Lü Ci not long ago, and they didn't expect to see him again so soon. Zhang Huaiyi and Tian Jinzhong were about to go over and say hello.

Lu Ci, however, spoke first, grinning and saying, "Big Ears, Jinzhong, haven't you always wanted to investigate that group of Japanese pirates who raided Yang Village? Today, I may have brought you some crucial clues."

Upon hearing this, Tian Jinzhong was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to ask, "What clue? Tell me quickly!"

Lu Ci, however, kept everyone in suspense: "Don't rush, just wait."

He gestured towards Zhao Gang with his lips.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Kong Jie, Zhao Gang turned around and called over Wei Dayong.

Wei Dayong, covered in dust and covered in injuries, strode in.

Zhao Gang introduced, "This is Commander Li of the Independent Regiment, and this is Deputy Commander Kong."

Wei Dayong stood at attention and saluted: "Good morning, sir!"

"You think you can fight your way out of a Japanese POW camp?"

Li Yunlong looked at Wei Dayong with suspicion. He often dealt with Zhang Huaiyi and Tian Jinzhong, and his horizons had broadened considerably. He really looked down on ordinary so-called experts.

"What's the big deal? It's just taking down a few Japanese soldiers. I learned to practice martial arts before I could even walk. If I can't even handle a few Japanese soldiers, then all my training has been for nothing," Wei Dayong said, sticking out his neck.

"Ha, quite the boast," Li Yunlong laughed.

Zhao Gang explained from the side: "Wei Dayong used to be a member of the Central Army. He was captured during the Battle of Xinkou. Before joining the Central Army, he was a monk at Shaolin Temple for ten years."

"Oh? So you're a top disciple of Shaolin Temple. No wonder your kung fu is so impressive!" Kong Jie exclaimed, then looked at Tian Jinzhong and Zhang Huaiyi: "What's the relationship between Shaolin Temple and the Celestial Master's Mansion? They should be considered like-minded people, right?"

Wei Dayong looked at Tian Jinzhong and Zhang Huaiyi, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

Li Yunlong chimed in from the side, "Have you heard of the junior brother of the Little Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, that monk, the Little Celestial Master?"

When Kong Jie mentioned the Celestial Master's Mansion, Monk Wei didn't react much. The Celestial Master's Mansion was powerful, but his Shaolin Temple was no less so. However, when Li Yunlong secretly mentioned the Little Celestial Master, Monk Wei instantly lost his composure. His eyes widened, and he stared at Zhang Huaiyi and Tian Jinzhong with an incredulous expression.

"You...you are the junior brothers of the Little Celestial Master?!"

Wei Dayong's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, as if he were looking at some rare animals.

Zhang Huaiyi frowned and stepped back behind Tian Jinzhong. He was really not used to this kind of attention-seeking.

Tian Jinzhong tilted his head back and said, "That's right, I am the universally acknowledged master of the martial arts world, the leader of the Tian Tong Sect in Shanghai, the Little Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, and the junior brother of Zhang Zhiwei, the Taoist Master of Tian Tong! This is my junior brother, Zhang Huaiyi!" Upon hearing this, Wei Dayong excitedly slapped his thigh: "I remember now, I heard your names in the intelligence from the Jianghu Inn before. You two often traveled the martial arts world with the Little Celestial Master."

“That’s right!” Tian Jinzhong nodded smugly.

Zhang Huaiyi, on the other hand, quietly pretended to be Tang and tried to minimize his presence.

At this moment, Lü Ci, who was standing to the side, was not happy to hear this and couldn't help but speak up:

"When it comes to traveling the world with Senior Brother Zhang and going through life and death together, do you two even rank among the best? It's clearly me and Lu Mang who have done the most! Back then, when we followed Senior Brother Zhang to Liaodong, blew up the railway company, and killed Lieutenant General Fujita amidst a sea of ​​soldiers, you two were still fasting and chanting sutras on Longhu Mountain!"

“I accept chanting scriptures, but I don’t accept vegetarianism,” Tian Jinzhong immediately retorted, then pointed at Wei Dayong, “The vegetarians are right here!”

"I'm a vegetarian, I really am a vegetarian," Wei Dayong said with a forced smile, touching his bald head.

Then, he looked at Lü Ci and suddenly realized, "I remember now! The method this brother used to save me earlier seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. It was the Ruyi Jin. This brother must be Lü Ci, the second of the famous Lü family's twin beauties, right, Brother Lü?"

“That’s right!” Lü Ci nodded. “It’s me!”

"Brother Lü Ci, please accept my bow for saving my life!"

Then, he turned around, clasped his hands in a respectful bow to Tian Jinzhong and Zhang Huaiyi, and said, "Brother Tian and Brother Zhang, I have long admired your names. Please accept my bow!"

"You're too kind, we're all brothers!" Tian Jinzhong quickly stepped forward to help Wei Dayong up.

"Brothers...are you soldiers here?" Wei Dayong noticed that they were all wearing gray military uniforms and was somewhat surprised.

“That’s right!” Lü Ci nodded.

Tian Jinzhong quietly added, "It was our senior who recommended us."

"Recommended by the Little Celestial Master?!" Wei Dayong was taken aback, then quickly turned to Zhao Gang: "Political Commissar Zhao! I also want to join your department! Please accept me, sir!"

Zhao Gang chuckled and teased, "What? Didn't you decline when I invited you to join us on the way here, saying our army was too backward, our equipment was too poor, and we couldn't even get enough to eat, and that only the Central Army was a regular army? Were you just coming along to take a look? Why have you changed your mind now?"

"I've seen it, I've already seen it all. I was blind before! This isn't just tacky or bad, it's a treasure trove of talent! Even the Little Celestial Master's junior brother is here. What more could I ask for?" Wei Dayong quickly said with a smile.

"Hahahaha!" Zhao Gang laughed loudly. "We'll talk about that later. You should first tell me the specific information about that group of Japanese pirates. This is more important."

Recalling his previous experience, Wei Dayong's face darkened, and he said:

“Those Japanese soldiers are not like ordinary superhumans. When they fight, they never linger. They use killing moves immediately, taking lives in an instant. They are like a group of killing machines.”

"In the POW camp, three men teamed up to fight a Japanese soldier with short swords, but they were all dead in less than a minute. Those three were all extraordinary individuals who had practiced martial arts for many years. It's a pity, their deaths were so pathetic..."

The Japanese pirates chose their sparring partners based on their strength. If he hadn't pretended to be Tang and misled them, thus allowing him to outmaneuver them, he wouldn't be alive today.

"Wait a minute!" Kong Jie keenly grasped the key point: "You mean, it was a group of Japanese soldiers? Not just one or two individual experts?"

“Yes, it’s a group! There must be dozens of them,” Wei Dayong said.

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie, Li Yunlong, Tian Jinzhong, and the others exchanged glances and made a decision in their minds. This was probably the same group of Japanese pirates who had attacked them before.

"Commander Li, this is a very important situation; we need to analyze it carefully." Zhao Gang also knew about the Independent Regiment's previous experiences.

Li Yunlong nodded and patted Wei Dayong on the shoulder: "Well done, brother! You've done a great job! You can stay. Go and rest first, and get some food from the cooks while you're at it. We need to have a meeting to discuss some things."

Upon hearing this, Wei Dayong was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, sir!"

Then he left.

Inside the room, the atmosphere became tense and somber.

The group huddled around the map, quickly discussed the matter, and came to three conclusions:

First, there was indeed a Japanese special forces unit that was specially trained, well-equipped, and even composed of extraordinary individuals.

Secondly, the Independent Regiment must have encountered them in Yangcun a few days ago!

Third, based on Zhang Huaiyi's previous analysis, their real target during that night raid was most likely the Eighth Route Army headquarters in Daxia Bay!

"Looks like I've come at just the right time!"

Lu Ci grinned, revealing a cruel smile: "Now that it's confirmed that it was these Japanese pirates who did it, let's take revenge."

"I will make them suffer a terrible death!" Tian Jinzhong said through gritted teeth, thinking of his fallen comrades.

“Let Monk Wei draw the exact location of that POW camp,” Zhang Huaiyi said calmly. “But I advise you not to have too high hopes.”

"Why?" Tian Jinzhong asked, puzzled.

“When we fight guerrilla warfare, we all know to fire a shot and then move on.” Zhang Huaiyi pointed to the map. “Since the Japanese pirates are an elite special forces unit, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t understand this principle.”

"No matter what, we have to go and take a look!" Tian Jinzhong said.

"We still have to see it!" Zhang Huaiyi nodded.

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Zhao Gang said. "If we want to launch a military operation against the enemy's special forces, we must first draft a report in the name of the regimental headquarters, explaining the situation in detail, and then report it to the brigade headquarters. Only after obtaining approval and confirmation from higher-level organizations can we take unified action. Otherwise, it would be unauthorized troop movements!"

"Oh, my dear political commissar!" Li Yunlong was displeased upon hearing this, saying, "By the time you leisurely write up the report and submit it, it will be too late. The situation on the battlefield changes in an instant, and opportunities are fleeting! We can't be so rigid in our approach to fighting!"

Li Yunlong turned to Zhang Huaiyi and decisively gave the order: "Huaiyi! Take two of your best men and sneak over there quietly to scout ahead! See if those Japanese devils are still there!"

"If they're there, send the signal immediately! Our Independent Regiment will assemble right away, press forward, and encircle them to avenge our brothers. As for the report..."

Li Yunlong looked at Zhao Gang: "When we go up, we'll trouble the political commissar to write a report."

Zhao Gang frowned but did not object. Although Li Yunlong's style of acting first and reporting later was a bit unconventional, he was right about one thing: the battlefield is ever-changing and one cannot be rigid.

“Alright, I’ll go check it out right away.” Zhang Huaiyi nodded in agreement.

“I’ll go with you!” Lü Ci volunteered.

“You…” Zhang Huaiyi glanced at him: “Erbi, forget about you. I know your style all too well. This time I’m just doing some reconnaissance, not going to kill them all.”

"What do you take me for?" Lü Ci said, displeased. "Do you think I'm Lu Mang?" (End of Chapter)