"Finally back!"
As Chen Ku transford into a little bee and flew to this side of the Two Realm Mountain, breathing the air from Ji Country, he let out a big sigh of relief.
He looked back at the direction of the Two Realms Mountain behind him.
"One hundred thousand troops..."
Chen Ku murmured in his heart:
"When I just turned into a bee and flew over the Two Realms Mountain, I didn’t see any trace of the army being stationed, but I did see so small palaces, very well hidden. Could it be that the one hundred thousand troops are hidden within those palaces?"
Being soone who inherently possessed many storage thods and had a realm of the Hero King itself, Chen Ku subconsciously thought, could Yuan Country have hidden the one hundred thousand troops in so small world, just waiting for the news to be ready, and they could directly surge out from those palaces.
"Or is there so other reason I don’t know about."
Chen Ku’s thoughts flickered.
He wanted to imdiately return to Qiu Dragon Mansion to see if his eldest brother had returned ho, to ask him clearly in one go.
But looking in the direction of Baojiao County, his mind instead reflected on Guan Hongluan within the Hero King Realm.
He thought to himself:
"Settle this matter first."
Initially, the reason he arranged the matters of Guan Hongluan and Tan Chongrui to be dealt with after returning from Fire Beak Mountain was to have more confidence after his strength had further improved.
Now, his own cultivation had reached the peak of the Sixth Realm.
If other transformations were added, he would have the invincible power to sweep through the Seventh Realm.
And if the Fire Beak Pot was added, catching them off guard, it felt like he could even take on an Eighth Realm expert.
"Finally, a little sense of security."
Chen Ku’s current ans and backup gave him the confidence that even without fairly exchanging hostages with the Marquis of Han Shou’s mansion, whatever other plans or contingencies the opponent had, he could suppress them with his strength, fearing nothing.
"Half a month has passed, the other side should be anxious too. It’s ti to set the location for the hostage exchange."
...
Within Qiu Dragon Mansion, at the Qiu Dragon Martial eting.
On the Martial Arts Gold Order worn at Qin Fang’s waist, a ssage suddenly appeared.
The Twelve Guardians, each with the title of scholar, possessing the Martial Arts Gold Order, could enter the Martial Arts Heaven and Earth for trials.
At this ti,
He looked at the ssage from Chen Ku on the Martial Arts Gold Order.
Imdiately he stood up and gathered all the Twelve Guardians.
And if you looked closely, besides the Twelve Guardians, there was also a literati in green clothes, wearing a green long robe.
"Master Uncle, the location and ti for the hostage exchange have been set, just thirty li outside Baojiao County, at Snake Fish Town. We are to send the ssage to the Marquis of Han Shou’s mansion," Qin Fang said.
Little Grandmaster Zhou Li frowned and said: "What are Master Uncle’s arrangents for us? How do we need to coordinate?"
Qin Fang looked at the literati in green clothes and said, "Master Uncle didn’t ask us to do anything, just asked if we had contacted Lord Tan’s sect..."
Everyone looked towards the literati in green clothes.
This literati in green clothes was nad Wang Xingji, the representative of the Pure Stream faction behind Tan Chongrui. They contacted him within seven days after Master Uncle left.
The purpose was precisely to prevent the Marquis of Han Shou’s mansion from going to extres; they could also leverage the Pure Stream faction within the Imperial Court’s cabinet to put pressure on the Marquis of Han Shou’s mansion.
After all, Baojiao County has been lost for several months, and now Old Marquis Guan Yanbing is rearmored and on the march, commanding twenty thousand elite soldiers. If things escalate and get exposed, no one can guarantee how Baojiao County’s warfare will end.
Wang Xingji, clad in green, slowly said: "The implication from above is that behind the Marquis of Han Shou stands Prince Yu, and things cannot escalate, so as long as we can safely bring people back, it will be fine. Now is the warti period, and the cabinet within the Imperial Court is a huge vortex; it’s not yet the ti to tear faces."
Nie Zhun sneered: "Mr. Wang, it’s no wonder you Pure Stream folks can’t accomplish anything at this ti; you’re still thinking of covering for others. You’re thinking of safely bringing people back, yet others may not be willing to do the sa."
Wang Xingji remained calm and said, "That’s the aning of my presence. If both the mansion and we have an understanding, then we’ll mutually release people, just pretend Tan Chongrui and the Commandery Princess were kidnapped by mountain bandits, everyone knows this without saying it. If they are unwilling to release people and want to make other scripts out of it, then it’s not our problem. By then, we can justly declare the mansion to have treasonous intentions, at worst, reveal it all."
"That’s more like it!" Nie Zhun took a deep breath and said, "If we’re not even prepared to overturn the table, we’ll definitely be eaten alive."
"Let’s not talk about this, what does Mr. Chen require of us?" Wang Xingji asked.
Qin Fang glanced at the Martial Arts Gold Order, hesitated for a mont, and then said:
"Master Uncle only asked us to be ready to go directly receive people at Baojiao County, without any part needing our coordination."
"Does he intend to exchange hostages with the mansion alone?" Wang Xingji said with a solemn voice, "As far as I know, the mansion has four or five Seventh Realm experts, isn’t it too risky for Mr. Chen alone?"
"Agreed, Master Uncle going alone is too dangerous, we must go to support him."
Nie Zhun and Duan Yun spoke simultaneously:
"This is originally a task that Master entrusted to his disciples; how can we let Master Uncle risk it alone?"
With all that Chen Ku had done during this period, these Twelve Guardians were already completely convinced by Chen Ku.
Especially since the imprint of Chen Ku defeating the Champion Marquis.
These two, broken off by Chen Ku himself, had almost beco absolute followers of Chen Ku.
"They’re not wrong." Little Grandmaster Zhou Li spoke, finally deciding: "Let’s go there together. In case anything happens, if they don’t release the hostages or have other ideas, we can assist."
Qin Fang took a deep breath and also said: "I agree; let’s depart imdiately."
All Twelve Guardians simultaneously mounted their horses and headed towards Baojiao County. At the mont of leaving the city, they attracted the attention of the major martial associations within, who secretly speculated about what kind of major event could warrant the simultaneous action of the Twelve Guardians.
Within the Hongwu eting.
"The Twelve Guardians act together, heading in the direction of Baojiao County again, could it be..."
Purple Gold Elder lay in the recliner, squinting:
"Is there news about Qin Yuxian?"
Regarding Qin Yuxian’s disappearance, within the Qiu Dragon Mansion, both large and small martial associations had long speculated that it must be related to the Hero King Treasure.
"Hero King Treasure... Qin Yuxian..."
Purple Gold Elder thought to himself.
Suddenly, he no longer wanted to lie in place, got up, and muttered:
"I should go and take a look."
Like Purple Gold Elder, experts from various martial associations, who were interested in Qin Yuxian’s whereabouts and the Hero King Treasure—so even possessing Seventh Realm stature—followed alongside the Twelve Guardians.
......
Before long, after the Twelve Guardians had conveyed the news through various ans to the Marquis of Han Shou’s Mansion, Marquis Guan Yanbing at the frontier Baojiao County received the information imdiately.
Within the camp.
Already over two hundred years old, Guan Yanbing, with white hair, eyes like a tiger, a square face, exuded a natural authority. His brows conveying a sense of privileged nobility, his enormous stature close to two ters, made it apparent that although elderly, he still possessed incredible strength.
Within the camp.
Guan Qingfeng sat lower and looked at the news from ho, standing up to talk to his father:
"Father, after half a month, they’ve finally sent news again—is it Qin Yuxian? We’ll find out by going there."
Upon hearing this, the Old Marquis showed a trace of exhaustion in his eyes and said, "Let the Little Prince decide."
.........
Snake Fish Town.
On both sides of the town, all were empty houses.
Once, although not bustling, the small town full of human warmth now resembled a ghost town, with spider webs hanging on every household’s door.
"I didn’t expect you were born in such a place."
Guan Hongluan followed behind Chen Ku, looking around with slight curiosity. Clearly, for soone from the Marquis Mansion, it was her first ti coming to the countryside, especially such a dilapidated, deserted village.
"Yes, heading east from this town for ten Li is our village, nad Dachen Village," Chen Ku replied.
"Truly amazing." Guan Hongluan looked at the surroundings.
Knowing that Chen Ku erged from a small village under this town, she was even more curious.
How had soone from a rural village within such a short ti reached the pinnacle of Sixth Realm cultivation and beco the acting president of the largest martial association in the Qiu Dragon Mansion?
"Where are the people of this town?" Guan Hongluan asked.
Chen Ku gazed toward Baojiao County, sighed, and said, "I guess they’ve all been caught and taken to Baojiao County City."
Snake Fish Town was the place he chose for the hostage exchange with the Marquis of Han Shou’s Mansion.
He thought the remote rural folks could escape the catastrophe, but unexpectedly, they were all plundered by Peace Path and detained in the city, becoming followers of that earthly heavenly kingdom.
Upon hearing this, Guan Hongluan looked toward the Baojiao County direction, muttering to herself, "Grandfather is with the army there now."
"Commandery Princess, who do you think will co to exchange hostages with ?" Chen Ku led Guan Hongluan to a tea stall, casually wiped the dust off a chair with his sleeve, and sat down.
Guan Hongluan glanced at the dusty chair, choosing not to sit, just standing in place and replying softly to Chen Ku’s question, "It should be Second Uncle."
In their Marquis Mansion, her father was the eldest, responsible for managing family affairs, while Second Uncle was in charge externally, having stepped into the Seventh Realm, Gang Control realm.
Chen Ku took a pot of water from the storage bag, poured two cups, and looked at the distant sunset, his eyes calm:
"They’re here."
Under the reflection of the faraway sunset, three people slowly approached on the path outside the town.
Guan Hongluan imdiately looked over, and indeed, her Second Uncle had co, but...
He was standing behind soone.
And when she saw the man walking slowly with hands behind his back, dressed in luxurious jade robes, exuding an aura of powerful confidence, she exclaid with surprise:
"Little Prince."
Leading the group was her fiancé, the Little Prince Yang Xi from the Daji Royal Family’s Feather King Mansion.
Yang Xi, accompanied by Guan Qingfeng behind him and a robust, imposing man with a knife on his back, slowly walked to the tea stall, his gaze sweeping over Guan Hongluan and finally landing directly on Chen Ku, who was drinking tea.
He did not speak to Guan Hongluan first, instead his eyes searched around, but found no one.
He addressed Chen Ku coolly:
"Who are you, little servant? Where is Qin Yuxian? Quickly have him co out and greet this prince."
Qin Yuxian, Hero King Treasure, these were the matters he cared about most.
Guan Hongluan, observing Yang Xi’s reaction and deanor, quietly lowered her head, seeming to know that this would be the scene upon realizing he ca here.
The Marquis of Han Shou’s Mansion and Feather King Mansion are political alliances.
Yang Xi had no feelings for her whatsoever, and likewise, she had no affection for this Little Prince, but... The fact that the first thing he said upon arrival didn’t involve her still made her sigh internally.
Chen Ku, sitting beside Guan Hongluan, held a bowl of tea, sipping slowly, rely questioning: "Where is Lord Tan? You seem not to have brought the person."
"Daring to sit before the Little Prince, disrespectful!"
The knife-backed brawny man behind Yang Xi, seeing Chen Ku’s actions, imdiately shouted, and without another word, swung a knife toward the chair under Chen Ku’s foot:
"Kneel and show respect!"
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