Chapter 911: Chapter 911: Handover
Feng Wuci was captured by Ji Fenglie and taken to the Ji Family’s Great Cave Heaven. The news quickly reached the Feng Family and Qi Tianxin.
Of course, this news was seen, not heard.
When the bloody fingers were presented to Qi Tianxin and the Feng Family, their reactions were drastically different.
Qi Tianxin stared at the severed finger, frowning in contemplation, still pondering some serious issue.
The person who saw the finger and letter at the Feng Family immediately sent them to the Celestial King of the Feng Family.
The Celestial King of the Feng Family recognized it as Feng Wuci’s finger at a glance, and a complex expression appeared on his face.
"What’s meant to happen will eventually happen." The Celestial King of the Feng Family knew Feng Wuci’s nature and anticipated that such a day might arrive.
Yet, as this moment truly arrived, the Celestial King’s emotions were somewhat stirred.
As a woman, the Celestial King of the Feng Family managed to lead her family to this point, and the effort and price she paid were beyond ordinary imagination.
To maintain her combat strength, she didn’t even have time to bear more children when she was young.
This is a woman’s physiological disadvantage. Men invest far less energy and cost in childbirth, leaving them more time and energy for other pursuits.
For women, the process from pregnancy to childbirth brings significant vulnerabilities due to physical reasons.
The difference between victory and defeat for a strong individual may lie in numerous insignificant details.
Pregnancy was unquestionably a destructive risk for the Celestial King of the Feng Family.
In the late Great Qin period, in her struggle to secure a position, the Celestial King of the Feng Family had neither the time nor the courage to bear children, fearing that enemies would exploit the opportunity to thrust her and her family into eternal damnation.
When she finally had the time and means, time and her body no longer permitted her to bear children, leaving her to resort to special methods to give birth with extreme difficulty.
Feng Wuci was born under those circumstances and was physically frail, receiving excessive doting from the Celestial King of the Feng Family.
"Bring Qi Tianxin here. After all, he is Wuci’s husband now. There are things he should deal with. Try to help him bring Wuci back if possible," the Celestial King of the Feng Family instructed, and her intentions were clear to the family members.
Since she was not letting the Feng Family act, it meant agreeing to the conditions Ji Fenglie proposed in the letter.
The Feng Family believed that Qi Tianxin and Feng Wuci brought this upon themselves, initially when the families besieged Ji Fenglie. Killing Ji Fenglie was one thing.
But they secretly saved Ji Fenglie and imprisoned him in a dungeon, intending to use him, only to suffer a backlash. Who could they blame for that?
Qi Tianxin soon arrived at the Feng Family, and upon learning of the Celestial King’s intentions from the Family Head, he said nothing.
With some offerings from the Feng Family, Qi Tianxin headed to the Tear Luo Desert in the Great Cave Heaven, hoping to exchange for Feng Wuci.
Qi Tianxin originally planned to seize the opportunity to find Ji Fenglie. As long as he saw Ji Fenglie, he had his methods, which might allow him to rescue Feng Wuci.
Unfortunately, he never saw Ji Fenglie. Upon reaching the trading spot, he only found a note instructing him to leave the items he brought and then return, stating that Feng Wuci would naturally return afterward.
Qi Tianxin was naturally unwilling, but he still did not see Ji Fenglie and received fingers time and again, with nothing else, not even a shadow of Ji Fenglie.
Eventually, Qi Tianxin and the Feng Family dared not wait any longer. After discussions, they placed the items down as instructed on Ji Fenglie’s note and left.
They secretly tried some methods, but when they wanted to check, the items were gone, and the methods left on those items didn’t work. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
Soon after, the Feng Family and Qi Tianxin received another severed finger and a letter.
The letter accused them of scheming and using tricks. As punishment for their lack of integrity, the previous ransom didn’t count, and they had to pay again, this time with more precious items demanded by Ji Fenglie.
The Feng Family and the Qi Family were caught in a dilemma. If they didn’t agree, more fingers would just keep coming, with nothing else said.
The Feng Family had tried various methods to locate Feng Wuci or Ji Fenglie or even trace them.
But it was all useless. All sorts of secret laws failed to find Ji Fenglie and Feng Wuci’s whereabouts, and not even the Celestial King was able to discern their location, despite seeking the Ghost Daoist’s aid.
It was as if the two had transcended the Three Realms, no longer within the Five Elements.
Of course, Ji Fenglie didn’t have such capabilities. They were simply absorbed into a Secret Realm Pearl by Chen Guan, making it impossible for anyone to find them.
Chen Guan, meanwhile, returned with Ji Nanhong to the Celestial Court Army, with Ji Hongjun appointed as the new army commander.
This was Chen Guan’s request since he had no time to stay in the Celestial Court Army or the inclination to manage its affairs.
When they arrived at the Celestial Court Military Headquarters, they met with the previous commander, Qi Zhi’an, also known as An Yiqi, who was responsible for the handover.
Originally, Qi Zhi’an didn’t need to stay for the handover, but Chen Guan heard that he had insisted on staying.
"Captain." Qi Zhi’an addressed Chen Guan without the expected excitement or any visible hatred towards Chen Guan. This address as ’Captain’ took Chen Guan back to their time in the Celestial Court Army’s Reserve Team.
"How should I address you now?" Chen Guan looked at Qi Zhi’an, sighing softly.
The Qi Zhi’an of today appeared to be an elegant, noble scion, incomparable to the reckless youth of the past.
"My real name is Qi Zhi’an. I deceived you earlier. I stayed to clarify something with you," Qi Zhi’an said.
"Let the past be the past," Chen Guan said.
"Everything else can be left behind, but this matter, I want to explain thoroughly, or I won’t find peace for the rest of my life," Qi Zhi’an said.
"Alright, go ahead," Chen Guan said.
"About the matter of seizing Ji Nanhong’s talent, I’ve known all along, and I acknowledge it. But the reason I didn’t exchange my talent with hers during the process is that I thought her heart had changed towards you, Captain. I wanted to give her some punishment..."
After Qi Zhi’an explained the whole matter, Chen Guan finally learned the rest of the story.
At that time, everyone believed Chen Guan was truly dead. Later, when Chen Guan secretly returned to Ji Nanhong’s side, Qi Zhi’an thought she had found a new love so quickly, and thus, during the talent seizure, he withheld exchanging his talent with hers, intending to mentally strike Ji Nanhong.
Yet, it turned out for the best. If Qi Zhi’an’s talent had been exchanged, it wouldn’t have allowed Ji Nanhong to achieve her current accomplishments.
"I feel relieved having confessed this. Captain, whether you believe it or not, I have never harbored any animosity towards you. Whether in the past, present, or future, you remain my Captain at heart," Qi Zhi’an finished speaking and left with his belongings.
Chen Guan didn’t stop him from leaving. He believed Qi Zhi’an wasn’t lying, but being Feng Wuci’s son, Chen Guan couldn’t possibly keep him by his side, having tormented his mother so thoroughly.
If the truth ever came to light, it would be even more challenging to deal with then.
