Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 159: Covenant
Gu Jingnian knew that Yin Jinggeng was trying to win him over and use forbidden alchemy techniques to brand him with the mark of the prince's lineage.

This kind of winning over is not done with high positions and generous salaries, but with something that both parties want to do. I don't know if it is out of sincerity or because I know him too well.

With Gu Jingnian's aloof personality, he would have rejected this kind of solicitation, but after thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does Yong Kingdom also have a successful alchemist?"

"What do you think?" Yin Jinggeng asked back.

"I have only been in Yong State for a short time." Gu Jingnian said, "But I have heard that Yong State values extraordinary people, so alchemy is not popular."

As he spoke, he looked at Yin Wanqing and said, "The princess told me the same thing."

"What my little sister said is indeed true. When Master Xuandao traveled to Yong State, he did not make alchemy flourish. In the following decades, some strange people in Zhongzhou were persecuted by other countries and fled to Yong State, prompting Yong State to establish a system of coexistence of different customs and different cultures." Yin Jinggeng said here, and then changed the subject, "But in the nearly 20 years since the fall of Yue State, the situation has gradually changed."

"What changes?"

"It may not be obvious on the surface, because more and more aliens are in high positions in the court and the army. It is generally believed that aliens are afraid of being refined, so they oppose refining. But, in fact, aliens can also refine aliens."

As he spoke, Yin Jinggeng pointed at himself and then at Gu Jingnian.

"The Yin family is also a supernatural being. My royal grandfather and eighth uncle eventually embarked on this path. You were born with supernatural powers. You may be refined by others, but you can also refine others. It can even be said that your fire wings were also refined... In short, who is the butcher and who is the meat depends on strength, regardless of supernatural customs and has nothing to do with race."

Yin Wanqing said, "But I have never seen a successful alchemist since I was a child."

"You can't tell." Yin Jinggeng said, "The national conditions of Yong are different from those of Rui. The aliens are given official titles and made generals. How do you know whether he was born with this talent or cultivated?"

Gu Jingnian understood as soon as he heard it.

The State of Rui took strict precautions against strangers, fearing that they might cause disasters. Therefore, all those with powerful abilities must be core figures in the court. It was an extremely cohesive and perfect political power that was constantly strengthened by refining strangers and absorbing their abilities.

The Yong State was different. It strengthened its national strength by attracting people who were already capable, and its political power was relatively loose.

This may seem more tolerant and open-minded, but it can also easily harbor filth and dirt.

"It is often difficult for extraordinary people to fully display their abilities in Zhongzhou, but you have also seen that there are many extraordinary generals in Yong State whose abilities exceed what they should have." Yin Jinggeng said: "They all say that they are born with it, but how do we know that they are not the result of refining?"

Gu Jingnian took a sip from the wine glass and said thoughtfully, "No wonder, it has always been said that alchemy is not popular in Yong State, but Yong State has not issued an explicit order to ban alchemy. If the prince wants to do this, he will definitely offend many people. Have you really made up your mind?"

Yin Jinggeng nodded.

He was very determined, and there was still a hint of anger in his heart, but he didn't know how to say it. After thinking for a while, he pointed to the dishes on the table and asked, "Today's simple meal, is it to your liking?"

“It’s abundant.”

"These dishes are delicious, but they are not wasted. There are several famous dishes in Beijing, such as yellow croaker in soup, which is made by boiling bird's nest, scallops, abalone, and sea cucumber into a small bowl of soup, and then poured into the yellow croaker. After cooking, it is still the size of a yellow croaker, but the fish meat is soaked in the soup. Another example is the butter crab, which is a sacrifice. Only three butter crabs can be produced out of a thousand blue crabs. For this dish, thousands of blue crabs often need to be cut open."

Yin Jinggeng stood up, frowned, and said, "How many people in the world can hardly have enough food, but the dignitaries in the capital are all following this extravagant style. I will never tolerate it. The way of cooking is like this, and the art of refining is even more so, and the harm is even worse. No matter how great the resistance is, I will not let Yongguo go down this road of no return."

After hearing this, Gu Jingnian understood Yin Jinggeng's thoughts, but he still had some doubts.

"Your Majesty has only recently ascended the throne. Your Highness is discussing this with me now, but it does not seem that there is any imminent disaster."

"I looked into the details of my grandfather's refining of the salamander, and I also discovered some other things." Yin Jinggeng paused for a moment, his eyes becoming more serious, and said, "What we have seen is only the beginning of his refining plan. He is not content with just turning into a salamander, and he has more plans."

Gu Jingnian asked, "What was the letter that the ghost sent over?"

"It's true." Yin Jinggeng said, "That's what Chu Danqing wrote to Yin Yucheng."

When Gu Jingnian heard this, his face darkened.

Yin Jinggeng said, "I found out that in the past few months, Grandfather sent many trusted men to the southwest, but not for disaster relief. The drought in the southwest is getting worse, but not many refugees have fled to the prefectures and counties. In the past, such situations would inevitably lead to rebellion, but there was none this time. I guess a lot of people died. Before, I asked for permission to go to the southwest for disaster relief several times, but Grandfather always refused. Now it seems that it is probably because of the refining technique... For example, refining the phoenix."

The topic was finally brought up.

Yin Jinggeng turned around and looked at Gu Jingnian, saying bluntly: "I know that Fenghuang is your friend, and you have been looking for her."

"Yes." Gu Jingnian no longer denied it and said, "I asked Qu Jizhi, and he recently found out that she is in the southwest."

"Teacher may have known about it recently, but Grandfather must have known about it a long time ago and has already started to make preparations." Yin Jinggeng said: "If my guess is correct, Grandfather is using Teacher as a cover to hide it from Marshal Gu."

Gu Jingnian understood.

One of the conditions for Gu Beiming to surrender to Yin Kuo was to refine the phoenix, and Yin Kuo agreed. On the surface, he sent Qu Jizhi to find it, and acted as if he didn't want to take the risk. But behind the scenes, Yin Kuo may have known Ying Yao's whereabouts for a long time, and secretly made arrangements without telling anyone.

He couldn't help feeling a little worried, but after thinking about it, he calmed down.

Judging from these circumstances, Yin Kuo should not have found Ying Yao, otherwise there would definitely be signs in the underground palace, and Yin Jinggeng would also have more clues rather than just guesses.

What Yin Jinggeng said today inevitably contained some exaggerations, in order to encourage him to pay attention to this matter.

Gu Jingnian then asked, "What does Your Highness want to do?"

Yin Jinggeng said, "Grandfather's attitude towards alchemy has changed in the past ten years. It must be related to the Yue Princess Wei Li. I will try to find out what she thinks. You may as well try to find out what Marshal Gu thinks, how about that?"

"it is good."

After saying so much, in the end, when it came to Gu Jingnian, all he could say was a straightforward "yes".

Yin Jinggeng smiled, turned around, picked up the wine glass, and clinked glasses with Gu Jingnian.

"Dang." With a soft sound, Yin Wanqing also raised her glass.

The three of them didn't say anything heroic, they just drank the wine in their glasses together as a sign of an agreement.

--------

When I returned to Gu's house, I saw Pei Nian and Feng Niang sitting in the hall talking, and the atmosphere was vaguely tit-for-tat.

Feng Niang is not someone who is easy to bully. She used to be respectful to Pei Nian because he was an official in Kaiping Division. Now that Pei Nian is no longer an official, he still retains that arrogance. Naturally, the two of them don't get along well.

As soon as Gu Jingnian came back, perhaps to irritate Pei Nian, Feng Niang's eyes turned and she went to greet him first, with her slender hands naturally resting on Gu Jingnian's arms.

"Drinking?"

"Ah."

"Sit down." Feng Niang glanced at Pei Nian, smiled leisurely, and pushed Gu Jingnian to sit down. Her tone was a little gentler than usual, and she smiled and said, "I'll bring you a cup of hot tea to sober you up."

Pei Nian usually didn't care, but now he remembered that he was Gu Jingnian's nominal sweetheart. He cleared his throat twice, stood up and said to Gu Jingnian, "Let's go back to the house."

After saying that, she signaled to Gu Jingnian with her eyes that they were spies sent by the Swiss country and some things should be discussed in private.

Feng Niang actually understood Pei Nian's thoughts and said with a smile: "It's not like I don't know about your affairs. Why are you going back to the house? Let's talk about it together."

The two of them confronted each other, looked at Gu Jingnian, and said in unison: "What do you think?"

Gu Jingnian was not afraid of this situation and said, "Let's go back to the house together."

Although all the spies in Gu's house have been removed, Gu Jingnian is still very cautious. After returning to the house, he took out a tent made of black cloth and placed it next to the couch.

"go in."

"what is this?"

"The eavesdropping mask is made of white cloth."

There was only a candle lit in the room, and it became even darker inside the tent.

Pei Nian and Feng Niang entered first and squeezed out a spot.

"come in."

"Well, I'm coming in."

The faint candlelight was also blocked, and the tent was completely dark.

"Speak now." Pei Nian asked, "What did Yin Jinggeng say to you?"

This time, Gu Jingnian did not hide anything and told the general story.

Finally, he said: "I have never seen such determination among the nobles of the Swiss country, so I am willing to help them."

In his opinion, Pei Nian and Feng Niang also hated alchemy and would surely support this matter.

Unexpectedly, Pei Nian thought for a moment and asked in a language that only the two of them could understand: "Have you forgotten our identities? Are you planning to stay in Yong State and serve?"

"It's not to serve Yong State." Gu Jingnian said, "but I want to do this."

"Once we rescue your sister, we can ban alchemy when we return to Rui Country."

"If what Wei Li and Yin Kuo said is true, Emperor Rui is the best at alchemy. How can we ban him?"

"How can we believe their words? I only know that only the Rui Kingdom has a clear ban on alchemy..."

"Okay." Feng Niang said, "There are only three of us, but what are you two talking about?"

She was quite displeased. She pulled Gu Jingnian over in the dark, groped her way, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "You promised to take me to Woye, but now you want to break your promise?"

Gu Jingnian then whispered to her: "Don't worry, this matter is to find Yingyao."

Feng Niang smiled slightly and replied, "Okay, I will support you and find out the news for you."

Pei Nian couldn't hear them talking, and sighed slightly with a hint of helplessness, indicating that he had no way to deal with these two people who didn't consider the overall situation.

"Okay, there are only three of us. There's nothing we can't talk about openly." Pei Nian said, "I'm not against you doing this, but I'm reminding you that you still have to save your sister."

"Yes." Gu Jingnian said, "I haven't forgotten."

"That's good, let's investigate." Pei Nian regained his original aura and said, "After Rui Country unifies Zhongzhou, it will also ban alchemy, so let's get rid of those alchemists first. We can also use this opportunity to find Ying Yao and find out Gu Beiming's plot."

"It's a word."

"it is good."

In the darkness, the three of them high-fived and made a covenant.

(End of this chapter)