Chapter 164: The Thoughts of a Hooligan
Just after all the surviving spies outside the Millennium Ice Valley had evacuated, a female shadow suddenly emerged among a pile of bloody broken arms.

As the shadow became more solid, a female figure wearing blue silk clothes and with a pale and delicate face finally appeared.

After this figure appeared, the first thing he looked at was the numerous corpses crawling on the ground with icicles piercing their bodies.

Seeing these corpses that were alive and kicking just a moment ago but now silent, Xue Jingling, who was at the level of Lianshen Yangshen, actually felt weak in legs and feet and could not stand steadily.

"careful!"

Just when Xue Jingling was about to fall, a square-faced figure flew to Xue Jingling's side and supported her.

"Long Fei, I killed people! I killed so many people!"

Snow Crystal Spirit turned to look at the person who came, muttering to herself, as if she was about to have a mental breakdown.

As the companion spirit of the Millennium Ice Soul, the Snow Crystal Spirit is kind by nature.

Since her birth, she has been living in seclusion in the Millennium Ice Valley and has never killed anyone.

This was the first time that Xue Jingling killed someone, and she killed dozens or even hundreds of people. It is no wonder that Xue Jingling's heart was shocked.

"Thank you, Snow Crystal Spirit!"

Long Fei's husband Dai Qian supported Xue Jingling and did not say any other words of comfort. He just thanked Xue Jingling with a sincere expression.

However, it was Dai Qian's ordinary thanks that actually calmed Xue Jingling down, and her heart, which had been severely shocked, seemed to have received great comfort!

After all, Xue Jingling violated her principles and killed someone this time, not for anything else, but just for Dai Qian.

Dai Qian and Xue Jingling looked at each other for a few seconds, and finally Dai Qian supported Xue Jingling, whose heart was comforted, and returned to the Millennium Ice Valley.

Because the Millennium Ice Soul left its body, the Snow Crystal Spirit became afraid of the warm sunlight and could only appear in the Millennium Ice Valley and at night.

When she made her move just now, Snow Crystal Spirit also took advantage of the opportunity when the dark clouds blocked the sunlight.

...

"Third brother, what should we do now?"

Just as Dai Qian was helping Xue Jingling return to the Millennium Ice Valley, Zuo Bensan and his two subordinates, who had luckily escaped the disaster, finally fled back to the town and breathed a sigh of relief.

In densely populated towns, Zuo Bensan and his three companions can blend into the crowd.

Except for those who are inherently evil and do not care about the consequences, almost no experts will launch concentrated attacks on places where there are large crowds of people.

Therefore, Zuo Bensan and his two surviving subordinates could breathe a sigh of relief.

In fact, this was just the psychological comfort of Zuo Bensan and the other three. If the Yangshen master wanted to hunt them down, relying on the Yangshen master's powerful mental power, he would be able to find Zuo Bensan and the other three in the crowd and kill them at the designated spot.

It won't cause much commotion at all!
The plan of Zuo Bensan and his three companions to rely on the crowd to escape pursuit is a false proposition at the underlying logic.

However, one cannot be tense all the time. Sometimes it is a good thing to give yourself some psychological comfort.

"Let's return to our base first! Send the message back to Marquis Fu'an's Mansion. This level of expert is beyond our ability to handle!"

Hearing the questions from his brothers, Zuo Bensan thought for a moment, glanced at the only two remaining brothers, and said with a little regret.

Zuo Bensan never expected that his action this time, which was intended to prove his purpose by making a contribution, would actually lead to such serious consequences and cause the deaths of so many brothers.

"It's just that this time, we might be laughed at by the Second Master!"

One of Zuo Bensan's diehard fans suddenly interrupted with a hint of bitterness.

"This matter was my strong suggestion. Even if someone is to be held accountable, it is my sole responsibility!" Zuo Bensan said in a firm tone, looking at the last two brothers in front of him.

Since so many of his brothers died, Zuo Bensan should be held responsible.

"Third brother, I am not..."

"Third brother, you..."

Just when his two brothers were about to say something, Zuo Bensan stretched out his hand to stop them from speaking.

Perhaps accountability can alleviate Zuo Bensan's guilt!

……

"came back?!"

Just as Zuo Bensan and the other three were approaching the Fu'an Marquis Mansion's stronghold in Nanzhu Kingdom with inexplicable feelings, a voice that was strange but also a little familiar suddenly sounded in their ears.

"who is it?"

Zuo Bensan and the other two were startled at once, their bodies tensed up suddenly as if they had been bitten by a poisonous snake.

"come on in!"

Just as Zuo Bensan and the other two were looking at each other warily and taking in their surroundings, the courtyard gate of the stronghold was opened. Yan Xiaoer's familiar head popped out of the door and beckoned Zuo Bensan and the other two to come in.

The unexpected greeting from someone who was only heard but not seen, as well as Yan Xiaoer's unruly behavior, immediately made Zuo Bensan and the other two very confused.

Zuo Bensan and the other two are thinking!
Unlike his two subordinates who were worried about accidents and their superior Yan Xiaoer, who stayed behind and had been controlled by someone, and therefore walked hesitantly, Zuo Bensan, who had thought of something, could not hide his excitement and took a few quick steps.

But then Zuo Bensan thought of the huge losses caused by his wrong decision, and his steps slowed down.

However, the ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her parents-in-law. Zuo Bensan took a deep breath and walked towards the courtyard gate again.

"Come in quickly, don't embarrass yourself!"

It was also at this time that Zuo Ben Sancai finally realized that his two brothers had not kept up at all. He immediately turned around and scolded them in a low voice.

After Zuo Bensan took a step, the two subordinates who were planning to follow him heard Zuo Bensan's sudden scolding, looked at each other, and quickly followed him, following Zuo Bensan into the courtyard gate opened by Yan Xiaoer himself.

As soon as they entered the courtyard gate, they found a majestic and unfamiliar figure standing in the courtyard of the stronghold.

This accident made them look at each other again, and then they simultaneously turned their gaze to the third brother Zuo Bensan.

But when they turned their attention to Zuo Bensan, they found that Zuo Bensan's face showed obvious excitement and guilt.

This kind of obvious emotional change is not in line with the qualities of a spy from the Fu'an Marquis Mansion.

What’s more, he is an elite among the secret agents of Fu’an Marquis Mansion, such as Zuo Bensan.

"Zuo Bensan, deputy captain of the Internal Affairs Department, pays his respects to the Marquis. May the Marquis be blessed with good health!"

Just when Zuo Bensan's men were still thinking about the reason for Zuo Bensan's mood change, Zuo Bensan had already taken the lead in bowing 90 degrees.

Hearing Zuo Bensan's call, his two subordinates were startled and quickly followed suit and bowed.

"The Internal Affairs Department guard Xu Xu/Li Shitou pays respect to the Marquis. May the Marquis be blessed with good health!"

Xu Xu and Li Shitou, who also bowed at a 90-degree angle, looked at their toes and immediately understood everything!
"No wonder Third Brother was so excited after hearing that invisible voice outside the courtyard! It turned out to be the Marquis' voice!"

"No wonder Captain Yan opened the door himself. It turns out that the Marquis has arrived!"

“No wonder Third Brother scolded us for stopping outside the courtyard!”

"However, Third Brother was able to recognize the Marquis' voice from just a few words. He is indeed a die-hard Marquis!"...

"Get up, Captain Zuo! What results have you gotten from tracking down Dai Qian?"

Just when Zuo Bensan and his two subordinates were racking their brains, Zhu Chengwu's voice came.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis!"

Zuo Bensan and the other two first expressed their gratitude.

"My Lord, we have been tracking Dai Qian all the way and finally found him outside the city! He has entered the Millennium Ice Valley that was rumored!
It was also at this time that we discovered that in addition to the legendary threat of extreme cold air in the Millennium Ice Valley, there was also a mysterious master. We and the spies and pioneers of many forces encountered her attack outside the Millennium Ice Valley!
All of us who went from Fu'an Marquis Mansion, except for Xu Xu, Li Shitou and me, have been wiped out outside the Millennium Ice Valley!
"I beg the Lord to punish me!"

After thanking Zhu Chengwu, Zuo Bensan stood up and reported all the information he had, including the losses caused by his willful behavior.

At the end of his words, Zuo Bensan even took the initiative to ask for Zhu Chengwu's punishment.

"Being a spy is a dangerous job! If you hesitate to do so because you are worried about danger or afraid of death, that would be disappointing!

Captain Zuo, I remember you. You are very capable! This time, you have found out a lot of information in a short period of time.

Although some losses have been caused, overall your merits outweigh your faults!"

Zhu Chengwu lightly passed over the fact that Zuo Bensan asked for punishment, and in one sentence he defined the nature of Zuo Bensan's trip to Nanzhu Kingdom: his merits outweighed his faults!

Just as Zhu Chengwu said, being a spy is a dangerous job. Zhu Chengwu cannot tolerate those who just take the money but do nothing, more than making mistakes.

However, the idea of ​​being a scoundrel seems to be on the rise in the Fu'an Marquis Mansion recently.

Zhu Chengwu has to find a way to contain it.

The current treatment of Zuo Bensan is Zhu Chengwu’s way of curbing the mentality of the scoundrels.

Zhu Chengwu said something well in his previous life!
The more dishes a person washes, the greater the chance that he will break one.

When a person never breaks a bowl, it is very likely that he has never washed a bowl in his life.

Zhu Chengwu needs to set an example and create a convincing enough case of fault tolerance and error correction for those people in Fu'an Marquis Mansion who want to do things and can do things.

"Master Hou~~"

Zuo Bensan didn't expect Zhu Chengwu to say this. This sentence, "the merits outweigh the faults," not only defined Zuo Bensan's trip to Nanzhu Kingdom, but also made Zuo Bensan inexplicably moved. Zuo Bensan's tone immediately froze.

The two surviving subordinates of Zuo Bensan were also inexplicably excited.

When they heard Zhu Chengwu call out "Left Colonel", they guessed that although Jian's third brother, who was in the Marquis's heart, made a mistake this time, the punishment he received would not be severe.

The Marquis has many affairs to attend to, and he also has to practice martial arts intensively. The fact that he could call out the name and position of a small deputy lieutenant is enough to prove that this deputy lieutenant has left an impression on the Marquis.

However, Zuo Bensan's two subordinates never imagined that the Marquis would finally expose the mistakes made by their third brother and the losses caused by him with just one sentence: "The merits outweigh the faults."

It seems that the position of the third brother in the Marquis's mind and the degree of importance he attaches to him are even greater than they imagined.

They didn’t follow the wrong person!
What they didn't understand was that although Zhu Chengwu had an impression of Zuo Bensan, this impression was not entirely deep.

Ultimately, Zhu Chengwu's handling of Zuo Bensan this time was due to the situation and the timing.

"Give me the address of the Millennium Ice Valley and other intelligence you have discovered. Don't worry about the rest! What comes next is beyond your capabilities!"

Zhu Chengwu couldn't stand Zuo Bensan's blurry eyes, so he immediately asked Yan Xiaoer, Zuo Bensan and others to leave.

"Yes, Lord Marquis!"

Yan Xiaoer, Zuo Bensan and others bowed and retreated.

"Congratulations, Bensan! It seems that it won't be long before you will be on equal footing with me!" Yan Xiaoer looked at Zuo Bensan in front of him with both congratulations and urgency in his eyes.

The congratulations are because Zuo Bensan, the talent he personally trained, has a bright future for development.

But Zuo Bensan was climbing so fast that he was about to be on par with Yan Xiaoer, which made Yan Xiaoer feel deeply urgent.

As a former elite spy of the Marquis of Fu'an Mansion, Yan Xiaoer had made many contributions to the Mansion, otherwise Yan Xiaoer would not have been promoted to the position of Captain of the Factory Guard.

But after watching his colleagues fall one after another during missions, Yan Xiaoer, the former elite spy, gradually changed his mentality.

He began to think that staying alive was the best way to get promoted.

Instead of taking great risks to pursue meritorious service and promotion, where nine out of ten people fail, why not take no risks and spend more years slowly accumulating experience in order to seek promotion?

The eight or nine levels of colleagues who joined the company at the same time as Yan Xiaoer all died in various dangerous missions. When they died, most of them did not even have a job title, but were just ordinary secret agents. A few were equivalent to team leaders or general flag bearers...

But what about Yan Xiaoer?

Relying on his past merits and seniority, even if Yan Xiaoer no longer carries out any dangerous missions and makes great contributions, Yan Xiaoer has been gradually promoted to his current position of captain with the restructuring and expansion of the Internal Affairs Office.

This is much better than those colleagues who died in various dangerous missions!
"Brother Yan, what is there to congratulate? If you weren't so cautious, you might have already become a thousand households today!
And I was also thinking whether I was suitable for leadership. Over the years, I was happiest when I was an ordinary spy...

That way I won't have to bear the lives of my brothers, and I can do whatever I want and do it however I want!"

Although Zuo Bensan was very happy to be received and recognized by Zhu Chengwu, when he thought of his brothers who died in Nanzhu Kingdom, especially those who were massacred outside the Millennium Ice Valley, his happiness was mixed with more loneliness and hesitation.

It was nice to receive praise from Zhu Chengwu, but Zuo Bensan was already beginning to doubt whether he was suitable for a more important leadership position!
After all, the higher the position, the more brothers you have under you!

Once a mistake is made, the casualties will be greater!

"Ben San, don't think too much! Everyone will die in this life!

If we are afraid to move forward because of a few casualties, then the Marquis's Fu'an Mansion should just be disbanded!

As long as people die for a good cause and have no regrets, that's enough!
As a leader, as long as your brothers are not wronged while they are alive and do not regret before they die, you have fulfilled your duty.

Moreover, as a secret agent killer, we should be afraid of harming the lives of ants, which is a taboo for us!"

Looking at Zuo Bensan who seemed to be in confusion, Yan Xiaoer seemed to have returned to his old habit of being a know-it-all when he first taught Zuo Bensan.

When he finished speaking, Yan Xiaoer remembered that Zuo Bensan was about to become his equal.

After that, the two of them were direct competitors for promotion and merit.

Wouldn't Yan Xiaoer be making things difficult for Zuo Bensan by trying to persuade him?

"Brother Yan, you are right! People living in this world are constantly killing and creating evil! Of all things in the world, humans are the most cruel! In this case, why am I pretending to be compassionate here! Brother Yan, thank you!"

After Yan Xiaoer's persuasion, Zuo Bensan seemed to have figured something out. He regained his spirit and sincerely thanked Yan Xiaoer.

"It's okay, Ben San! Come on, don't let the Marquis down!"

Yan Xiaoer sent his sincere blessings to Zuo Bensan.

Zuo Bensan figured it out, and Yan Xiaoer also figured it out!
Yan Xiaoer and Zuo Bensan are not on the same track!

Zuo Bensan wanted to make achievements, but Yan Xiaoer just wanted to gain experience. In this case, it was meaningless to compare the speed of promotion between Yan Xiaoer and Zuo Bensan. What Yan Xiaoer should compare was the situations of the two in a few decades!

Of course, the more likely possibility is that Zuo Bensan had already been buried by then!
This is not Yan Xiaoer cursing Zuo Bensan, but Yan Xiaoer is well aware of the high mortality rate of front-line personnel, especially those like Zuo Bensan who strive to be the best in everything.

(End of this chapter)