Chapter 2027: Rumors
Chapter 2027: Rumors
Zu An thought back to the things that had happened on the Great Snowy Mountain. Back then, they had even been chased by a mysterious and powerful snow lady.
If one wanted to live, the whole Great Snowy Mountain region seemed like a forbidden place. It was full of all kinds of mysteries and legends. Now, however, there was naturally no need for him to fear that snow lady who pursued him last time.
Zu An had even considered taking a look around the Great Snowy Mountain and exploring this mysterious place. However, he always had something new he had to do. He hadn't expected that the next time he would be crossing over the Great Snowy Mountain would be in this kind of situation. Now, even though he was in the air, he could still sense the unique chill of the region. Even the Wind Fire Wheels’ flames became much weaker.
“It is indeed quite a bit colder than before,” he muttered.
There was a blistering sun in the sky; normally, he would have expected the area to be warmer than last time. The cold left him a bit confused. Nobody in the past thousand years had ever heard of Great Snowy Mountain’s temperature changing, right? Could it be that something had happened there? Even so, the situation with the sealed land was too urgent, so he really didn’t want to waste any time. Despite his puzzlement, in the end, he still didn’t stop and continued to fly north instead.
After flying for a while longer, Zu An suddenly sensed something. He took out his recording mirror. The surface was flickering in a certain pattern. He knew that no one would use such a device unless it was extremely urgent, so he ignored the ki stone expenditure and quickly threw in a dozen or so heaven-grade ki stones. Soon after, the surface rippled. Dressed in her empress dowager formal wear, Liu Ning appeared.
“Regent, I couldn't contact you with the jade strip, so I used the recording mirror,” Liu Ning said while sitting upright and still.
Zu An took out the jade strip and gave it a look. Sure enough, there was no other information. As expected, it wasn’t a reliable way for instant communication.
“What does the empress dowager need?” Zu An also replied respectfully. The fact that she had addressed him in such a proper manner meant there were others around her. That meant there were some things that naturally couldn't be said.
“This morning, I received a formal request for assistance from the Fiend King Court. Something has happened to the sealed land, and they hope we can respect our prior agreement and send reinforcements to aid in the eradication of the foreign monsters," Bi Linglong's voice added. She naturally walked over to Liu Ning’s side and appeared in the image as well. She looked deeply at Zu An.
“The situation has already worsened to this degree, huh,” Zu An said with a frown. Even though he had discussed gathering reinforcements with Liu Ning, that was just preparation for when they would need it in the future. After all, whether it was the Fiend races or the human race, they each had their pride. If they could deal with it themselves, there was no way they would ever ask the other side for help. And yet, the Fiend races were now asking the human race for help through official channels. They were clearly pressured to the point that they had no other choice.
“Alright, let’s organize the reinforcement army as quickly as possible. I'm rushing to the Fiend races’ territory myself. I’ll help with the coordination on that side,” Zu An quickly replied. However, he was a bit confused. Why hadn’t the Second Empress contacted him at all from her side? He thought of something and asked, “Empress Dowager, empress, did the FIend races’ request for reinforcements come from the Second Empress herself?”
Liu Ning shook her head and replied, “That did not happen. It was something the Elf King told us through the recording mirror. He said that something bad had happened to the sealed land and that the Second Empress set out in the night, leading the Golden Crow Guards to provide reinforcements. That matches the secret intelligence we received on our side.”
That handsome older man appeared in Zu An’s mind. He couldn't help but sigh. The Elf King was still someone trustworthy - his father-in-law, Snow’s father.
It seems the Second Empress was in such a rush that she didn’t have time to contact me.
“Have you already selected people to go on this mission?” Zu An asked.
“Normally, the Qin clan’s two dukes would have been the best candidates, but they still have their prior injuries and cannot recover in time. Eventually, after compromises from each side, we decided that King Liang Zhao Yi would be the commander-in-chief and lead the reinforcements north,” Bi Linglong replied.
“King Liang?” Zu An repeated with a frown. That guy was the late emperor’s uncle, but in reality, he was a useless nobody. He had shown off his military strength in Brightmoon City, but in the eyes of a true expert, his bit of cultivation wasn’t anything at all.
Even so, he could guess a few things from Bi Linglong’s words. It seemed that the empress’ faction definitely wouldn’t allow the Liu clan’s trusted aides to take on such a crucial authoritative role. Furthermore, the Empress Dowager’s faction didn’t want anyone from the Bi clan to be the commander-in-chief either. That was why both sides had compromised and chosen King Liang, a member of the Imperial clan. Even though his cultivation and intelligence were quite ordinary, he had the qualifications and a certain degree of prestige.
Liu Ning seemed to have seen through his worries and said, “There is no need for regent to be worried. The court has already discussed things. Once the army is brought to the Fiend races' territory, the authority of command will be yours. He will at most be a military supervisor.”
Zu An nodded slightly. That wasn’t a bad idea, or else the entire army would collapse because of a worthless commander. As for King Liang becoming a military supervisor, that was clearly also insurance set up by the court. After all, this main army was advancing into the Fiend races’ territory, and he was also the regent of the Fiend races. There were definitely some worries that he would collude with the Fiend races to entrap the army.
Just then, Bi Linglong spoke up, saying, “The Qin clan’s younger generation eagerly enlisted, seemingly with the goal of regaining their clan’s glory. Also, many disciples from the academy also signed up, especially when they heard that you were on that side. They are all eager to fight side by side with you. Should we agree or reject them?”
Zu An reflexively wanted to talk about the dangers of the sealed land, but after thinking about it, if those from other clans wanted to go, but the ones he was close to didn’t, what would outsiders think? The army’s very morale could even be shaken. Besides, unpolished gems could never truly display their beauty. Only after true battles could they grow faster.
As such, he eventually said gravely, “Tell them of the danger clearly. If there are still people who insist on going, agree to their enlistment.”
Bi Linglong nodded slightly and said, “I understand.”
Off to the side, Liu Ning gave her a surprised look.
This lass always acts overbearing and arrogant when she talks to me, but in front of Ah Zu, she's acting like a young married woman! Tsk tsk tsk, Ah Zu really knows how to deal with women.
Zu An discussed some more details regarding the court with the two ladies, then hung up the call reluctantly.
Then, he tried to contact the Second Empress’ recording mirror, but there was no reply. An uncomfortable feeling crept up within him. If she had been in too much of a rush to gather her troops and support the sealed land, giving her no opportunity to contact him, that was one thing. But now, he was the one calling her, and yet she still didn’t have time to even pick up the call. That meant the situation had already reached a certain degree of severity. Or... Something had already happened to her.
Previously, he hadn't been able contact Yun Jianyue through the recording mirror, and sure enough, something big had happened to her. If not for him arriving promptly on time, she could have already passed on.
The Second Empress’ side... I hope I can make it!
He urged the Wind Fire Wheels on at full strength, not caring about his own ki reserves anymore. They immediately became four times faster. Just like that, he traveled day and night without rest at all.
He soon passed over the Snake race’s territory. After thinking about it, he went in to ask about the situation. It wasn’t surprising to find out that Yu Yanluo wasn’t there, though. The Snake race's elders said that the Second Empress had gathered all of the experts of the different races to go to the sealed land. Their clan leader had been one of the first to respond, taking the strong individuals of the clan, including Little White and Little Blue, with her.
Even Yu Yanluo had gone...
Zu An tried to contact Yu Yanluo through the recording mirror, but he couldn't contact her. He became more and more anxious. He couldn't be bothered with the Snake race’s enthusiastic requests for him to stop for the night. He didn’t even take a sip of tea before continuing on his way.
...
After flying for a while longer, Zu An a the familiar palace below and entered a brief trance. It turned out he had already arrived at Bluefield Country, the land full of foxes. In the past, these skies were precisely where he hadshared a beautiful memory with the Bluefield Country Master, Tushan Yu.
Suddenly, a huge bird flew out from the palace below, with a beautiful woman on it. Her face was delicate and pretty, and her hair fluttered in the wind behind her. Her faint blue dress made her look youthful and pure, but her foxy eyes seemed to tug right at the soul. Together with the shaggy hair moving in the wind behind her, she woman managed to perfectly combine the contrasting feelings of purity and seduction.
“May I ask which senior has arrived... Regent!” Tushan Yu exclaimed. She had initially been a bit scared, but when she saw who it was, she was pleasantly surprised.
Zu An reached out his hand, and a gentle force took her into his arms. He exclaimed, “It’s been too long!”
Tushan Yu got on her toes and immediately kissed him. She reluctantly let him go, her face a bit red as she asked, “Did you come because of the sealed land?”
“You know about it as well?” Zu An asked, then tried to gain more information.
“The king court issued an order from the Second Empress, for the clan leaders to lead their elites to the sealed land as reinforcements. She said that the Fiend races have already reached the point of imminent destruction. Our Bluefield Country isn’t good at fighting, and our skills are useless against those monsters too, so we didn’t need to go to the front lines. We stayed behind to take care of some logistical matters," Tushan Yu replied.
Zu An was shocked. The Second Empress had actually described it as imminent destruction! He asked, “Do you know what happened at the sealed land?”
Tushan Yu frowned and replied, “There are a lot of rumors. Some say that the Second Prince was bewitched by the monsters and betrayed the Fiend races. Others say that the Second Prince wasn’t happy with fighting endlessly in the sealed land, and his men coerced him to flee. There are some who say the Second Prince has already died in battle... There are all kinds of rumors, and it's hard to discern truth from lies. There's only one thing we know for certain, which is that something did happen around the sealed land.”
Zu An frowned and asked, “Did the court leave behind a monitoring army?”
They were all smart people. In the past, the Second Prince had been ordered to head to the sealed land precisely for him to exhaust his elite troops. The Fiend King Court had definitely been on guard against him as well, so they would have left behind some forces to watch that army's rear lines. If something strange happened then, they would be able to react immediately.
“There was no news from that army at all, as if all of them had vanished into thin air,” Tushan Yu replied.
Zu An frowned. It seemed the situation was even more grave than he had imagined.
He asked for some more details, then took out the Fiend races’ regent seal. He wrote some documents and handed them to Tushan Yu, saying, “The humans’ reinforcements are about to head north. Take this order from me and have the guards at the checkpoint let them pass. At the same time, prepare military provisions.”
Tushan Yu’s expression became serious as she said, “I will definitely carry out your orders!”
At the same time, the way she looked at him became even sweeter. At first, she had been worried that he only treated her as a toy, but he was actually willing to have her speak on his behalf, which meant that wasn’t the case at all.
...
Meanwhile, in the human race's capital, Xie Daoyun was getting worked up from arguing with Xie Xiu. She protested, “Absolutely not! You are the only son of the Xie clan; I won’t let you go to the sealed land!”
“Aren’t you the only daughter of our clan? If even you can go, why can’t I?” Xie Xiu replied with a big smile.
“I am a woman, so of course it’s different!” Xie Daoyun looked at her younger brother while huffing angrily. “It would beone thing if a brat like you who only knows how to play around all day went, but this is a matter of principle. Absolutely not!”
Xie Xiu sighed and said, “Foreign monsters are invading, and the world is on the verge of extinction. I, Xie Xiu, might be called a pretty boy sissy by other men who are jealous of me, but I am also a proper man! How can I hide in fear at a time like this?”
Xie Daoyun said with a stiff expression, “Father and mother aren’t here right now, and I can’t let you cause trouble. I am enough to represent the Xie clan.”
Xie Xiu said with a smile, “Then let’s talk about it in a way you can understand. So many academy disciples have applied to fight the enemy with their libationer. There are many female disciples among them. If I acted too fearful of death and stay behind, my reputation would be soured. How would I continue to chase after women in the future?”
Xie Daoyun was speechless.
...
Similar scenes were playing out amid the capital’s various clans.
Inside the Regent manor, Qin Wanru slammed the table and stood up. She cried, “No, absolutely not! Youzhao, you are not allowed to go!”
Meanwhile, Chu Youzhao immediately panicked, exclaiming, “Why? Even little sister Qinghe can go!”
Qin Wanru was really nervous. She said, "Our Chu clan has placed all its hopes in you. If something happens to you, what are your parents supposed to do then? What will everyone from the Chu clan do?”
In the past, in order for the Brightmoon Duke’s noble title to be smoothly passed down, they had used underhanded means and gone through so much effort to raise Chu Youzhao. How could they let all of that be ruined because of this event?!