Chapter 78: Inquiring About the Situation
In a grand manor embalmed with the aroma of wine, a scholar from Longdu stood up, raised his cup, and signaled. "Cheers, everyone!” he gushed. “Grand Xia won’t be surviving for much longer after today. However, worry not, my friends from Guhe and Yizhou, you’ve always been good friends of Longdu. This massacre won’t affect you. Any businesses you run, or you are involved in, won’t be implicated!"
Seated in front of him were prominent figures in commerce from Guhe and Yizhou, such as Long Huixin. They exchanged glances, smiled, and raised their cups to their mouths.
After finishing her drink, Long Huixin smiled lightly and asked, "I wonder how you plan to deal with the Fang Manor?"
The scholar’s eyes were prideful as he answered, "To be honest, the Fang Manor is our first target. We plan to take them down ahead of the Grand Xia Emperor. Even before we had launched the attack on Grand Xia, we had already sent some of our experts to the Fang Manor."
Long Huixin's eyes brightened momentarily, but then she frowned. "Fang Chen’s cultivation is extraordinary; he’s in the Qi Core Stage. I’m afraid your experts may not be his match.”
"Hahaha!" The scholar laughed heartily. Seeing the confusion on the faces of his entourage, a cheeky smile rose on his face, and he explained, "Fang Chen is currently trapped on the Jade Immortal Boat."
The others were immediately shocked. "What? You've trapped him?"
Long Huixin found it hard to believe and, doubtful, she asked, "How is that possible?"
"It is very possible. Marquis Xian Yu has already taken action to trap him. The marquis advanced to the Qi Core Stage five years ago, and has progressed even further in these last five years, reaching the mid Qi Core Stage,” the scholar said, eyeing everyone present. “Fang Chen won’t be able to escape,” he declared.
"Hiss!" Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air.
Amidst their shock, a deep sense of dread appeared in their eyes. Longdu had hid this piece of news even from their empires. This was bad; the stronger Longdu was, the more imbalance there would be.
Just at that moment, a sudden commotion outside snatched them back out of their reverie. The scholar burst into a gleeful laughter, then said, "That must be our cavalry capturing the Inner City. Let’s go and take a look.”
As soon as the scholar and his entourage went outside, they saw a group of people outside, as well as the despondent and dejected cavalrymen, their heads hanging low, led by the Valiant Saber Guards in chains.
Everyone was stunned. Wasn't Longdu supposed to breach the capital? Why were there hundreds of cavalry from Longdu captured?
Long Huixin and others wore strange expressions, and the smiles on the faces of the scholars from the Longdu Empire gradually froze.
Seconds later, they saw someone carrying over a dozen charred corpses.
"Brother, may I inquire about the situation?" asked one of the scholars from the Longdu to a Valiant Saber Guard, unable to help himself.
Without even looking, the guard replied, "You needn’t worry; the situation has stabilized. Longdu’s cavalry attempt at breaching the capital has failed."
What!?
The situation stabilized? Failed?
The faces of the scholars from the Longdu Empire turned increasingly unsightly, and one of them casually asked, "What about those charred corpses?"
"These corpses? Haha, it's quite amusing, really. Marquis Xian Yu had thought that he would be able to trap Divine General Fang on the Jade Immortal Boat since he was a Qi Core expert himself. Except, he, together with a dozen Qi Manipulation martial artists, were turned into charred black corpses by Divine General Fang’s subordinate, the Windy Cloud Swordsman.” the guard narrated. Then, he couldn’t help but comment in awe, “The move he had used seemed similar to Divine General Fang’s Purple Lightning Palm. It’s power was quite terrifying”
"What!?"
The group of scholars from the Longdu Empire was shocked, and their faces turned incredibly pale. They wavered, their feet tottering in place, almost slumping to the ground.
Marquis Xian Yu is dead?! He’s one of those charred corpses? And It wasn't Fang Chen who took action, but... his subordinate!?
Long Huixin and the others took two steps back instinctively, creating some distance from the scholars from the Longdu Empire.
Seeing their odd faces, the Valiant Saber Guard’s brows scrunched up and he waved, signaling for his men. Then, he eyed the scholar and, grinning, he asked, “Hold on. Are you guys from Longdu?”
"This..." The scholar's face leached of blood.
Niu Jie let out a wicked laugh, and the Valiant Saber Guards, fierce as wolves and tigers, stepped forward and tied up the scholars one by one. Seeing them all tied up and ready to go, Niu Jie said, “Men, bring them back to the station for interrogation!”
Then, Niu Jue’s gaze fell on Long Huixin and the rest. "And you are...?"
"We’re from Guhe."
"And we come from Yizhou. There’s no connection between us and Longdu. We weren’t even aware of the siege they had planned! ”
Both sides deliberately distanced themselves from Longdu.
"Oh. Well, you guys should be careful. There are many escapees from the Longdu cavalry still lurking in the capital. Remember to stay safe and not let others use you to cause a rift between our empires”
Niu Jue looked concerned. "How about you stay at our station for a while? It's very safe there."
The group shook their heads frantically in unison.
"No, no, no..."
"You are overthinking it, sir. We can ensure our own safety. However, we appreciate your concern.”
The Valiant Saber Guard station was like hell. Whoever went near there would almost be skinned alive. None of them would dare to go to the station at such sensitive times.
"Oh... then just be careful. Also, it’s better for you not to communicate with anyone from Longdu anymore. If you manage to find the whereabouts of any of the escapees, remember to file a report at the station, letting us know."
Niu Jie nagged them a couple more times and then left with his men to the station.
After they disappeared from view, everyone let out a sigh of relief, and Long Huixin’s expression became serious. "Do you think...what that commander said is true? Do you really think Fang Chen’s subordinate is in the Qi Core Stage?”
"I heard that when Goddess Xiao from the Qingsong Empire entered the capital... one of her subordinates from the Wolf Army, who was in the Qi Manipulation Stage, was turned into a charred corpse with a single palm strike...” a scholar from Yizhou said in a low voice.
While some of the scholars were at the Qi Condensation Stage, they still couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that someone could be turned into a charred corpse with a palm strike. But now... they had no choice but to believe it. Fang Chen’s strength had far exceeded their imagination!
Suddenly, Long Huixin brows knitted together, doubtful. "But if that’s the case, then why has Grand Xia allowed Qingsong to run roughshod over them all these years?”
"Perhaps... they were hiding their strength, pretending to be weak? Just like this time with Longdu... Because they didn't take Grand Xia seriously, they suffered heavy losses."
Even Marquis Xian Yu has died, and Longdu’s attempted invasion has become a joke. The fact that Longdu had failed would, without a shred of doubt, bring it significant losses.
It was simply unbelievable!
Everyone present suddenly felt somewhat regretful, and at the same time, they became more vigilant. After the incident concluded, they planned to send messages back to their empires to warn them of what had happened!
After an hour, the number of soldiers dispatched to the four capital gates increased, and the situation finally stabilized. Seeing this, Xu Ge and others quietly left the battlefield.
The order from their lord was clear: as long as the situation stabilized, there was no need for them to take further action.
"Is the Spirit Blood Sect really not manipulating things behind the scenes?" In the air, Fang Chen's brow furrowed slightly. He searched everywhere but had not found any trace of cultivators from Spirit Blood Sect cultivators. If that was the case, then Longdu’s surprise attack might indeed be the result of other forces pushing and supporting the Longdu Empire.
"The identity of Zhou Xiu... is a crucial point."
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