Chapter 487: Zhou Bao’s Weakness
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Three days later.
In the Inner Yard of Wuyang Mansion.
Zhou Bao was in the Mansion pacing up and down agitatedly. Behind him stood his father Old Zhou, who was as equally worried as him. Besides these two people. the others in the courtyard were all Old Zhou’s relatives. Today was Yan Yunfei’s delivery date for her child. Naturally, the whole family had prepared everything properly. Everyone had arrived already and were all waiting anxiously for the child.
Suddenly, a cry was heard from outside the courtyard. Zhou Bao jumped in surprise. Subsequently, he saw Jiang Xiao racing into the courtyard anxiously with a letter in his hand. Zhou Bao expression was gloomy. His face bore traces of displeasure as he walked out of the courtyard.
He walked straight towards Jiang Xiao who was heading for the courtyard.
“What’s the matter?!”
“Your Excellency, something has happened to Zhou Hai!” Jiang Xiao announced agitatedly after seeing Zhou Bao and handed over the letter in his hands to him.
…
It was the fourth year of Yongping of the Jin.
At a time when the entire world was in a state of ceaseless panic, the Jin Dynasty’s Wuyang Region was however in a state of joy. That was because Wuyang Region’s lord Zhou Bao had a child.
This result had calmed the original fury in him that was just about to explode. Not only had he calmed down, but Zhou Bao who now had a child seemed to have matured and was more thorough in his considerations.
In the next ten days, Zhou Bao was either accompanying Yan Yunfei or playing with his child. When he had nothing to do, he would chat with Old Zhou, painting a perfect picture of blissful filial piety. This scene agitated Jiang Xiao very much.
“Your Excellency, do we really want to dismiss this matter? That Qin Family was so audacious to not only stir up trouble between Kunlun Mountain and the Palace of Destruction Demon, but also in plotting to bring misfortune to Elderly Master and in killing Zhou Hai. This…!”
“I understand what you mean. Of course, I won’t dismiss this matter, but there’s no rush to deal with it now!”
Today, Zhou Bao finally walked out of the courtyard and met Jiang Xiao whose face was flushed with worry. Their encounter allowed the above conversation to take place.
“But…”
“Alright, you don’t have to say anymore. I’ve already asked my father to stay in Wuyang Region. They will not be moving back and forth as per usual, so you don’t have to worry that anyone will harm them. Unless they dare come and find trouble right here at Wuyang Region? I don’t think so. As for Kunlun Mountain and Palace of Destruction Demons, they are just one of the many possible victims. If they are dead then forget them!” At this point, Zhou Bao lifted his head and glanced at Jiang Xiao. “Jiang Xiao, you’ve served me for quite a number of years. I appreciate all your hard work!”
“What kind of words are those Your Excellency! It is my honor to work for Your Excellency. Plus, without your support, I would not have the status that I have today. Everything that I have now is given by Your Excellency. Nothing is hard work!”
Jiang Xiao was speaking the truth. Originally, he was just a small fly in the Navy of Jiang City. It was nothing like the glamour of being Zhou Bao’s subordinate. Almost all his responsibilities involve those of a Seneschal. It was a job only given to one out of hundreds and thousands of people. Plus, Wuyang Region has been growing more and more prosperous. It could be said that he had a part to play in its success. Seeing an abandoned land transform into a flourishing one filled him with a sense of satisfaction. Hence, listening to Zhou Bao say those weird sentences left him feeling a little edgy.
Was there something in the letter that he missed? Hints that His Excellency had to send them away? Or was it that His Excellency had provoked someone important and was looking for a scapegoat?
“Don’t think so much. I’m just saying that because I see that your cultivation has been stagnant at Level Six!” Seeing Jiang Xiao’s worried looks, Zhou Bao perceived that his words may have caused some misunderstanding in his prone-to-overthinking subordinate.
Jiang Lan’s expression changed, as if understanding something. He suppressed the anxiety in his heart.
“This is a jar of Bone-Forging Pill and a jar of Pulse-Setting Pill. After you return, settle the subordinates’ matters and start your closed-door cultivation training. These two jars of pills are sufficient to break through the bottleneck and achieve Level Seven Expert Realm!”
“Thank… thank you, Your Excellency!” Jiang Xiao responded profusely. He had long known that Zhou Bao had elixirs that could help others elevate their cultivation. But Zhou Bao had always prioritized cultivating that Zhu Ba fella. This Zhu Ba inherently had better combat capability than him, so Jiang Xiao never said anything about the preferential treatment. Plus, in retrospect, this kind of elixir was extremely valuable and hard to come by. To use it on one person was already a significant move. He was not up to standard yet so not obtaining that elixir was also expected. Of course, only a thorough thinker like Jiang Xiao would reason this way. If it was someone else, they might have been filled with envy and rage.
“Use the elixir with a peace of mind. Don’t worry. Also, there are also some other elixirs here with me. Please help me pass them to Wang Cheng. Handle the subordinates’ matters and practice with a peace of mind. It is fundamental to raise your own abilities!”
“Yes!” Jiang Xiao once again received the jar of elixir. His expression had returned to normal and even had traces of respect and honor in them. Although Zhou Bao was not preparing to send him off, handing him such precious elixirs so suddenly was truly beyond his expectations. It seemed like His Excellency had a plan. Then, it was only natural for him to follow his orders.
After sending Jiang Xiao away, Zhou Bao dismissed everyone else and sat quietly on one of the chairs in the hall. His eyes that twinkled with joy and magnanimity slowly turned into a brooding mood.
“Who on earth is responsible for this? White Tiger, or Zhi IX!” He calculated secretly in his heart. “Do they think that using such poor technique they can force me to admit defeat?!” Zhou Bao laughed coldly in his heart. “However, I must admit that they are pretty smart. They can see my weakness. Hehe!”
…
“The key of this plan was not implicating Kunlun Mountain or the Palace of Destruction Demons. It was also not about adding more enemies for Zhou Bao. It was mainly to trap Zhou Bao!”
At this point, in the West Capital of the Royal Capital and in a secret basement, a white-clothed man pretending to be an intellectual sipped his tea and expressed a look of peace and comfort.
“Trap him? Why? If we could convince Zhou Bao to help us out, that White Tiger would not have been a threat with Zhou Bao’s abilities! Indeed, Zhou Bao has the ability to slay a Venerable Realm Genuine Immortal!” It was the Jin Dynasty’s Emperor Yan Yuntian who was speaking this time. He had a vicious look on his face and compared to last year when Zhou Bao last met him, he had aged much. He no longer had the same charismatic aura as before. This couldn’t be blamed on him. A year ago, he was the first saintly soldier in all of history. But with two unexpected attacks, his legendary saintly soldier status was eroded by the millennium families into a dizzy soldier. His power had been shrinking rapidly and now, his field of command did not exceed the West Capital and not even the Royal Capital. If it was not for his Expert Realm cultivation, he would have been overthrown by now. However, his situation now is not any better than being overthrown.
To fall from a Nine Five Venerable Realm to such a pathetic figure did not seem like a situation that anyone could adjust to. How then could we expect such an adjustment from a person of such high ambitions?
Therefore, he naturally wanted to turn the situation around. He thought and thought and finally thought of Zhou Bao. That was why he sent his pregnant daughter to send a letter. At the same time, he was thinking of other methods to trap Zhou Bao but who knew that that letter had no effect at all? On the other hand, the joke had been on his side. The ambitions of the Qin Family of the South Mountains were stirred up and they were led to contact Kunlun Mountain and Palace of Destruction Demon to collaboratively defeat Zhou Bao. It was now that he finally understood that the Qin Family of South Mountains, one of the great millennium families, was the secret weapon of the Divine Wind Palace.
This not only caused him deep dissatisfaction. This was because this time round, out of all the nine well-known families, only the Qin Family of South Mountains was the fiercest. Plus, with Zhi IX responsible for leading the Qin Family to commit something like this, it was obvious that the intention was to offend Zhou Bao, to confuse him and to prompt him to question.
After the boy heard Yan Yuntian’s words, he was not confused at all. He only smiled, “In the end, Zhou Bao is ultimately from Tian Long Taoism and has a strong relationship with Tian Long Taoism’s Wang She. From what I know, before Zhou Bao had undergone cultivation, it was Wang She who was always protecting him. Now that he has cultivated successfully, he is ruling the lands of the northwest region. Tian Long Taoism even sent his subordinates and Wang She over and built a harbor of sorts! Only Heaven knows how close Zhou Bao and Tian Long Taoism really are. Do you really think he would lend us a hand in defeating Tian Long Taoism and those failing well-known families? I think it would already be a blessing if he does not attack us!”
“If that is the case, then why are we provoking him?!”
“I have my own reasons for doing so!” Zhi IX’s eyes twinkled, “The conflict this time round had risen too quickly. Be it us or the four great sects, no one had any adequate preparation. However, we five biggest sects ultimately know ourselves. No matter how much we battle, we all have some sense in us to not harm our pneuma. Plus there is a Golden Book of Fate above us, so no one would dare make any big moves. However, this Zhou Bao is different. He is only of a Level Nine cultivation, he’s not in the list of fairies, the Golden Book of Fate has no restrictive power on him whatsoever and his combat capability is way too scary! If things really go in his favor, we will have no room for action left. Therefore, we must think of a way to trap him, to not allow him to act as he wishes. It is only with this way that we will not have more worries!”
“No worries? So you came up with such a pathetic technique?!”
“Pathetic?” Zhi IX smiled. “Even if it’s pathetic, but it’s so useful! At least in our conflict with the four great sects, we can be assured that Zhou Bao will not interfere!”
“You’re so sure?!”
“Of course. Zhou Bao’s strength is indeed extreme. At the same time, his weaknesses are very obvious!”
“Weaknesses?!”
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on free(w)ebnovel(.)com