Longzang

Chapter 570 The Atmosphere Has Arrived
"Didn't I say that the Xu family's Dharma Images are all trash? I can't just be afraid to fight just because a perfect one comes along, can I? Besides, I'm not necessarily going to lose." Wei Yuan still insisted.

Bao Yun argued with him for a long time without any result. She was so angry that she gritted her teeth, hugged Wei Yuan, and bit his arm hard. As a result, her teeth hurt terribly, and she became even angrier.

Wei Yuan quickly softened his posture, otherwise, relying solely on his physical instincts, Bao Yun would have a hard time breaking through his skin.

Bao Yun retorted angrily, "If you want to go and die, then go! Nobody's stopping you!"

"Okay, I won't go."

Bao Yun was taken aback again, but then felt that she was too quick to be happy and couldn't save face, so she tried to keep a straight face and asked, "What made you realize it?"

Wei Yuan said, "I made these remarks, and the whole world already knows. If Xu Lanshan can't stand it, then she should be the one coming to me. Every day she returns to the Xu family is another day hanging herself on the pillar of shame."

Bao Yun nodded, "That's more like it! But we can't just wait passively like this, otherwise she'll just pretend to be deaf and dumb. We need to send some people to spread the word in the Xu family's territory. Say... say that Xu Lanshan is just a pretty face, that she only got her position by sleeping with people, that she has a high cultivation level but no real combat power. She doesn't even dare to challenge a first-level Spirit Condensation cultivator, she's such a waste, she should just find a man to marry quickly."

Wei Yuan gave a thumbs up. He himself couldn't have come up with such a thing; only the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix could.

Wei Yuan immediately arranged for a Daoist cultivator at the Kaihui level to find an informant within the caravan and have them spread the news throughout the Xu family's territory, especially within Hanyang Pass. Coincidentally, many within the caravan were also dissatisfied with Xu Lanshan, and they readily agreed.

Then Bao Yun added, "I heard that Xu Lanshan has now taken over the western defenses of the Xu family. It was she who ordered the border to be sealed off, preventing anyone or anything from leaving the border to aid the enemy. It is said that even True Lord Qiuniu clashed with her over this, but to no avail. She dares to disregard even the True Lord's face, so perhaps her backer is Xu Wangu."

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "Our own licensed caravan is currently blocked inside the pass, and the caravan is carrying nearly 100,000 refugees. Their food supplies won't last long. But if I were to send grain into the pass now, the Xu family would definitely intercept it all."

Bao Yun pondered for a moment and said, "We absolutely cannot send them grain! Doing so will only let them know that we are determined to get these refugees, and then they can control us. At the very least, they will try to raise the price and demand exorbitant amounts."

But if we look at it from another angle, apart from Qingming, other places see refugees as a burden. Our emphasis on refugees is abnormal. Therefore, we should act as if we don't care at all; that's the normal attitude.

Wei Yuan seemed to understand something and said, "How about we pay some customs duties to the Xu family? Ten taels of silver per person, just like in Zhao?"

Bao Yun shook her head: "The situation here is different from that in Zhao. You don't understand the way aristocratic families deal with things. Now, 100,000 refugees can't leave the pass, and the pressure on the Xu family is no less than ours. If so many people really starve to death at the pass, it will be a major event that will shock the world. The Xu family's reputation will be completely ruined. At that time, even if Xu Lanshan is Xu Wangu's own daughter, she will be punished. Ten years of solitary confinement is the lightest punishment."

Our aristocratic families value their reputation highly. Doing things like this too often could get us kicked out of the Seven Clans and Thirteen Noble Families. So now the Xu family is probably in a difficult position; it's a matter of who can tolerate it more. I bet Xu Lanshan is waiting for you to bring up the money so she can gracefully back down.”

Wei Yuan frowned and said, "What's the use of reputation? I mean, the Xu family has done so many bad things, what reputation do they have to speak of? Why would they care about something they don't even have?"

"That's because you know the inside story, that's why you think they have a bad reputation. You can do these kinds of dirty things in private, but you can't do them in public, otherwise you'll be condemned by everyone, and other aristocratic families will cut ties with you. At least in the eyes of the world now, the Xu family is a normal aristocratic family, it's just that because they lack foundation, they act a bit aggressively."

Upon careful consideration, Wei Yuan realized that this was indeed the case. Both times the Xu family attacked Qingming, they did so under the guise of bandit suppression; at that time, Qingming was indeed practically bandits themselves.

Even after Wei Yuan became a military governor, in the eyes of the world he was just a nouveau riche who came from a military background, essentially no different from a bandit, and no one would sympathize with him even if he died.

It wasn't until this victory in the war against the Rain Kingdom, slaying a million alien races, that Qingming caught the eye of the Great Tang people, becoming their legitimate ruler and gaining a righteous title. Ultimately, all the Tang people believed that those who conquered alien races and expanded their territory were the true heroes.

If the Xu family were to attack Qingming again, they would have to carefully find a pretext. Otherwise, attacking the border troops who had just finished fighting against the foreign tribes would be a major taboo, and if it escalated, even the Emperor Tang would have to issue an edict to inquire.

The Eastern and Western Jin dynasties and the Northern Qi dynasty were all determined to destroy the northern gate of Taichu Palace. However, they waited for over a century before finally finding an opportunity when Taichu Palace was weakened and the Liao people launched a major attack. But they dared not openly attack Taichu Palace, so they could only secretly open a corner of their defenses and let the Liao people pass through.

However, Wei Yuan already knew about this matter and had already devised a detailed plan within the Human World. But Wei Yuan still pretended to be ignorant and humbly asked, "So what should we do now?"

Bao Yun snorted and said, "You must have had this idea all along, why bother asking me?"

But seeing Wei Yuan's expectant expression, her heart softened, and she said, "We have the initiative in this matter now, so what we need to do is find a way to put pressure on the Xu family. The greater the pressure, the faster we can resolve it. The best way to put pressure on them now is to ruin their reputation. Didn't that pedantic scholar Cai Shizhi write a lot of articles to criticize you not long ago? He made quite a stir."

This guy can insult you, and he can insult others too. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are now hanging by a thread because of the Xu family's selfish actions—this is a blatant man-made disaster. With something this serious happening, if he doesn't write a ton of articles blasting them to death, can he still be called a scholar?

"Where would you find hundreds of thousands?"

"100,000 is too few; it won't be impressive enough to just spout nonsense. Besides, by the time someone comes to check the number of refugees, we'll have already achieved our goal."

Wei Yuan said, "That's true, but this guy probably won't be so easily manipulated by us. If he refuses to write, there's nothing we can do."

Bao Yun smiled slightly and said, "Who says there's no way? This guy has a mortal enemy in the literary world named Liu Wenkai. They are about the same in reputation and status, and have written dozens of poems to insult each other. Liu Wenkai once asked my Bao family for a favor, and I have already asked someone to speak to him. This will both repay the Bao family's favor and attack our mortal enemy. He agreed immediately. With him going to provoke him, given Cai Shizhi's temper, he will definitely fall into the trap."

Wei Yuan wasn't faking it this time; he was genuinely surprised and delighted. He took Bao Yun's hand and said, "It's truly admirable that you could think so far ahead!"

Bao Yun blushed slightly and said, "It's nothing, anyone can do it if they put their heart into it."

Seeing Bao Yun's blushing face, the crowd erupted in excitement, with countless voices shouting in unison, "Kiss her! Kiss her!"

The commotion was caused by various celestial plants; mortals had no right to observe Wei Yuan's private life. Even the usually docile Red Lotus Bodhi joined in, shouting the loudest, allowing Wei Yuan to see the true nature of this sturdy, large-eyed celestial plant in a new light.

Wei Yuan had no intention of indulging these guys, but he had finally managed to appease Bao Yun and the atmosphere had been built up, so he leaned over and lightly touched Bao Yun's face with lightning speed.

Bao Yun rolled her eyes at Wei Yuan, then turned around and took a big bite, catching Wei Yuan off guard.

With that, they were reconciled. Wei Yuan seized the opportunity to ask, "Why were you angry?"

Upon hearing this, Bao Yun glared fiercely at Wei Yuan, clearly still angry, but she still said, "The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire is no ordinary karmic fire; only immortal ancestors and Buddhas can use it. Do you know the immense karma involved in using it to refine a million members of the Witch Clan? How do you know you can definitely withstand it? And... and you didn't even tell me!"
You went to your death, and I had no idea what you were doing until it all happened before my eyes. Do you know how desperate that feeling is?
So after the war ended, I originally planned to leave quietly after the mess was cleaned up.

Wei Yuan felt a sudden wave of fear and quickly pulled her into his arms, saying, "I had discussed it with Uncle Feng, and he was the one who set up the formation. I didn't originally plan to use it, but the opportunity suddenly came, and I just thought I couldn't miss it, so I went up."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true! I don't want to die! Besides, we've clearly started to gain the upper hand, there's no need to fight Hongye to the death. Uncle Feng has calculated that the karma originally came from the Wu Clan, and now that we're returning it, we can also settle some of the karmic debts. The rest is completely manageable and can be gradually dissolved later. So I really don't want to die, besides..."

Bao Yun's face lit up, and she asked, "What are you saying?"

Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment. The solution proposed by Renjian Yanhuo was obviously very effective, but he felt a little ashamed to say it out loud.

Seeing Bao Yun press him for an answer, Wei Yuan gritted his teeth and said, forcing a smile, "Besides, how can I die now? What will you do if I really die?"

Bao Yun laughed heartily, then said, "If you die, I'll get married the very next day! And then I'll pour wedding wine on your grave!"

Wei Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief; as expected, there were still talented people among Zhuge Liang and Feng Yu.

That last sentence was clearly a lie, and Bao Yun knew it was a lie. But Bao Yun was happy that Wei Yuan had gone to the trouble of lying to her. So he finally managed to appease her.

At this moment, Wei Yuan received news that Master Chuhe had returned. So Wei Yuan said goodbye to Bao Yun, and hugged her as they parted. Wei Yuan's hands became restless again, trying to grasp the mountains, but failed, as one hand could not hold them all.

Bao Yun nuzzled Wei Yuan's face like a kitten before seeing him out of the house. Both of them were enjoying their growing intimacy and weren't in a rush to achieve anything.

Wei Yuan suddenly felt that this relationship was somewhat like ice cream from another world, where you only lick a small bite each time, but it can be sweet for a long time.

However, Wei Yuan immediately remembered that Xu Wenwu always ate ice cream by biting it, and it was gone in just a few bites. Thinking of this, Wei Yuan suddenly felt that there was indeed no innocent fat on this chubby little guy's body; it was all earned through his hard work, bite by bite.

Master Chuhe was beaming with pride. Upon seeing Wei Yuan, he began to talk incessantly, mainly about how the heads of various silk and brocade families admired him and how they were stunned into silence upon learning of his Heavenly Skill, so that none of them dared to show the slightest disrespect.

Wei Yuan was speechless; this was one of the old Taoist's bluffing tactics. The old Taoist did indeed possess a great deal of skill, but it was all earned through the cat's claws, with the snake contributing a small portion as well. The old Taoist was mainly responsible for the flowers.

The main purpose of Chuhe Zhenren's trip was to convey an important message: Qingming was going to collect silk brocade again, but only those unrelated to the Xu family, and the collection would take place outside Hanyang Pass.

At first, the family heads had some doubts, thinking that the garrison at Hanyang Pass wouldn't stand idly by. But the old Taoist priest patted his chest and assured them that as long as they could transport the goods three miles outside Hanyang Pass, they didn't need to worry about anything else. No matter how many soldiers were at Hanyang Pass, they would absolutely not be able to cross that three-mile line of life and death. Once they stepped even one foot across, the old Taoist priest would make sure they never returned!

The harsh words were indeed very effective; each family head had various ways to get the goods out of Hanyang Pass. Besides, silk brocade wasn't a strategic resource, so there was no reason to block it.

After recounting his experiences, Master Chuhe was a little uneasy and asked, "Nephew, I've already boasted about it. Will it not come true? If so, I'll have nowhere to hide my face."

Wei Yuan didn't bother to criticize the old Taoist for thinking he had any shame. He was originally worried about how to put pressure on Xu Lanshan, but after hearing the old Taoist's words, he suddenly had an idea. He immediately laughed and said, "You're still being too conservative! I'm going to make sure that not a single soldier from Hanyang Pass can leave the city gates!"

(End of this chapter)