Minglong

Chapter 408 Everyone has their own thoughts

The next day.

The caravan, laden with spices and silks, headed towards the Chishan tribe. Leading the way was Lord Huo Yi's carriage, with Shen Cang and others accompanying him as guards. Along the way, the herders and merchant caravans they encountered would nod and pay their respects.

At the rear of the group, Xie Jinhuan, also dressed as an ordinary guard, sat outside the carriage driving the carriage, while the little girl with braids leaned against him, her brows furrowed with a hint of displeasure.

After all, after escaping danger from the mountains yesterday, Jiang Xian was in the house studying the antidote, but suddenly lost consciousness halfway through. When she woke up again, she was already lying in bed, and there was an extra sentence in Xian'er's diary:
It's very important not to run into Xie Jinhuan's arms!

Yesterday, trapped in the great formation, with heavenly thunder and earthly fire covering every corner, Jiang Xian was indeed carried around by Xie Jinhuan.

But that was an expedient measure taken in an emergency; wasn't Lady Ye also being held in the same way?

In such a dangerous situation, if she wasn't allowed to snuggle into a man's arms, was she supposed to keep up appearances, run around getting beaten up, and then have Xie Jinhuan rescue her while holding her back?
This is utterly unreasonable...

Jiang Xian was born with a rebellious streak. Even if the invisible hand was her unknown side and gave orders without considering the actual situation, she would still ignore them. At this moment, not only did she not listen to advice, but she also deliberately sat in front of Xie Jinhuan to infuriate that invisible hand!

Xie Jinhuan, being of his nature, couldn't remain silent while a girl was sitting beside him. After gazing at the scenery for a moment, he began to do two things at once, taking out a booklet from his robes and flipping through it:
Wow~
The booklet contains drawings from yesterday, cut into three parts (top, middle, and bottom), allowing for continuous flipping through all six pages. The content features Tom and Jerry, and the brushstrokes are exquisite. Apart from the lack of background music, it is identical to a black-and-white animation.

Coal Ball must have seen similar objects on the island before. Now, like a baby discovering something from an animated film, it quickly crawled between Xie Jinhuan's legs to peek and examine it, even starting to imitate the vocal techniques shown on screen.

"Coo coo~ Chirp chirp chirp..."

Jiang Xian, who had been sitting with a rather chivalrous posture, caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of her eye, and her eyes lit up. Curious, she leaned closer to take a look:

Wow~ what is this?

"The Little Mouse Demon Battles the Old Cat Demon, isn't it great?"

"nice……"

……

Meanwhile, in the back carriage, while the young couple were enjoying their time together,...

Empress Dowager Guo leaned against the window, watching the old demon Gao and the young hero being so intimate, and she couldn't bear to look at them!

However, since Qixia Zhenren acted recklessly and got pregnant, becoming a laughing stock in the immortal realm, it was not her fault, and she did not stop her.

For easier shelter, the other teammates were also in the carriage.

Ye Yunchi had suffered a verbal attack yesterday and was still too ashamed to face anyone. However, the toxins in his legs had not completely subsided, so he was still unable to move and could only rest on a small couch.

Bu Yuehua watched over them from the side, and because the journey was boring, she started playing dice with Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling and Qing Mo are childhood best friends, and in theory they should be closer to the Zihui Mountain lineage. However, Aunt Houhou and the incompetent Mo Mo are both rather reserved and not very open when it comes to eating, drinking and having fun.

The witch group was different. As soon as Zhao Ling got on the bus, Sister Bu started to take the lead. Da Wanyi took the initiative to teach her various moves. Zisu Daxian was about the same age as her and was her personal alchemist. Naturally, their relationship warmed up quickly and they were now almost at the point where they could talk about anything.

After putting on his clothes, Nangong Ye maintained his aloof and icy demeanor, not joining the drinking party. He sat upright, seemingly practicing martial arts, but his mind was focused on the Western Region woman by the car window.

Through the demoness's narration, she learned that this Mingji was a reclusive master who had taught the demoness martial arts before and had now formally taken her as her disciple. Although she didn't know the other party's exact identity, her background was probably not simple.

Such a formidable woman, following them around all day, is probably not just there to protect the demoness. In Nangong Ye's opinion, she's most likely also after her still-weaning son, Ah Huan.

But the other party is currently the demoness master, Grandmaster Wanyi, and Grandmaster Zisu, so they shouldn't be as audacious as her.

To fulfill the important task entrusted to her by her master, she at least had to establish a Daoist relationship between the two, or even consummate the relationship...

But how should I cook this rice...?

Nangong Ye was clearly not good at being a matchmaker. He felt that professional matters should be left to professionals. He suggested that Nangong Ye should whisper sweet nothings in Xie Jinhuan's ear and get Xie Jinhuan to take the initiative to pursue him. He believed that this matter would definitely be resolved.

That brat probably wouldn't mind having extra wings. Even if he did, she could boast about them all she wanted. Winning over Ah Huan would be much easier than winning over Miss Ming Ji...

With this in mind, Nangong Ye secretly made up his mind, feeling that he should find some time alone to have a good talk with Xie Jinhuan...
-
Wolf City, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, is located at the foot of Red Mountain and is also the core hub of the grassland.

Beiming Lake is located north of the Chishan region. Although it is said to be an inland lake, its size is unbelievably large, hence it is also known as the 'Northern Sea'. The main rivers and waterways of both the Northern and Southern Dynasties originate in it. As night falls, the capital is bathed in the afterglow of lights, and countless merchants and laborers move through the horse and cattle markets.

Inside the royal palace located in the north, the tribal leaders who had arrived early were drinking and making merry at a banquet. As barbarians, the scene was certainly not as formal as that of the Central Plains dynasties, and rough men could be seen laughing, joking, and cursing everywhere.

Inside the golden tent behind the palace, the over-forty-year-old Chitai of the Northern Dynasty leaned back on the couch, his imposing figure resembling an iron tower. His rugged face exuded a fierceness, and he looked just like the embodiment of the 'roe deer' relief on the bronze ritual vessel on the side.

Several fair-skinned concubines knelt respectfully at his feet, and even though the Imperial Advisor Dugu Yue was standing in front watching, they dared not be negligent in their actions.

According to legend, the Paoxiao is the manifestation of the resentment of a disobedient son. It has a human face, a sheep's body, tiger teeth, and human claws. It is greedy, gluttonous, and plundering without restraint. It is one of the ancient ferocious beasts, and Chaochitai is indeed similar to this.

As the second son in his childhood, he was not qualified to inherit the throne. Fortunately, he was supported by the Grand Tutor Dugu Yue, secretly murdered his father to seize the throne, and then slaughtered his brothers to eliminate threats. He also inherited his father's wives and concubines according to the outdated and dross-like ancient rites. In the eyes of the Confucianists in the Central Plains, he was completely a humanoid creature and did not deserve to be called a human.

However, Chao Chitai was not a brainless tyrant. Although he was morally corrupt, he knew when to advance and retreat in power. For more than ten years, he had been groveling before the Northern Zhou and kept the Northern Zhou officials very satisfied.

Faced with various tribes, the strategy was to use coercion and enticement to divide small groups and divert attention from the conflict. Even when it was obvious that excessive taxes were being levied, no one was able to lead a rebellion. If it weren't for the fact that the heavy taxes were being levied ahead of schedule and the way they were being treated was too ugly, Huo Yi would not have taken the risk of assassinating the king.

However, the terrible idea of ​​collecting taxes at the beginning of spring was not actually Chao Chitai's idea. Rather, it was due to an opportunity that occurred at Beiming Lake, which brought a large number of righteous people to the grasslands. They have already unearthed many of the Huaxian Sect's spies. In a few more days, Xie Jinhuan and his righteous iron fists with their 'fiery eyes' will arrive.

As an old demon who has lived for three hundred years, Yang Huaxian knew that some of his power could not be hidden, so he had already begun to transfer his manpower. Before leaving, he had to make the most of everything, which is why he collected taxes early in the spring to make a quick buck and disrupt the order in the north.

Dugu Yue, the imperial advisor who helped Chao Chitai ascend to the throne, looked at the scene of rampant lust and reminded him:
"Xie Jinhuan has arrived in Huoli City and may come to the capital with the Changhe tribe in a couple of days. Huo Yi has always been defiant to the royal court and may target you this time, so please be careful."

Chao Chitai leaned back on the couch with his eyes closed, his voice rather cold:
"It took me half my life to gain control of the royal court, and now this situation has been created by a single sentence from the Immortal Ancestor. Is he now reminding me to be careful?"

Dugu Yue tucked her hands into her sleeves and calmly responded:

"You were able to rise to power entirely because of the leader's support behind the scenes. You should treat the leader with reverence."

Chao Chitai didn't feel that his current honor and status were entirely due to Yang Huaxian, but he acknowledged that his growth to this point was indeed inseparable from the Huaxian Sect. After a moment of silence, he didn't refute it, but instead said:

“Those who achieve great things must be decisive in their choices. Since you know they are coming for me and are prepared to abandon my vast estate, you should flee immediately. What are you doing here?”

Dugu Yue responded: "The higher-ups want all the opportunities in Beiming Lake to be seized. Therefore, before taking action, we must thoroughly understand the true nature of the righteous path and even eliminate our opponents. Xie Jinhuan is a pawn in the game, and so are you and me. Only by taking each other's pieces can we draw out the people behind the scenes to make their moves."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Chao Chitai sat up, his brows furrowed.
"All of them? You mean the Immortal Ancestor wants to take all three opportunities?"

There are only three opportunities in the Northern Sea of ​​Darkness. If the evil path wants to obtain them all, it means they must guard against Huang Lin Zhenren's "Heaven and Earth Coexistence" and make Qixia Zhenren and others return defeated. This difficulty is simply heaven-defying.

After all, if they can succeed, the righteous path will definitely work together to secure the opportunity, extend Huang Lin Zhenren's life by sixty years, and try their best to avoid non-combat casualties.

However, if it is certain that he cannot obtain it, then it is meaningless for True Immortal Huang Lin to leave Beiming Lake alive. The only thing he can do is to find an evil immortal and self-destruct, bite the other party before dying, and make a final contribution to the righteous path.

A sixth-realm immortal who was determined to take others down with him was truly invincible in the mortal world. Even Ye Sheng was afraid of him. One person could not subdue him, and two immortals would feel uneasy.

Dugu Yue was well aware of the price of taking everything, but there was nothing the higher-ups could do. The sect leader Yang Huaxian wanted a share, and Kongkong Daoren also wanted a share, otherwise the two of them would die; while the Underworld God Sect also needed a share, as it concerned the next step of the evil path's plans, and there was simply no share left for Huang Lin Zhenren.

So even though it's difficult, they still have to bite the bullet and get going. Their response at this point was:

"Securing second place and striving for third is very important, so we should eliminate our opponents as soon as possible and not wait until the opportunity arises. What we need to do next is to force the righteous elder to take action. The sect leader has been watching from the shadows. As long as we can injure him, we can force him to withdraw from the North Sea Lake competition."

Chao Chitai understood the risks of being a pawn crossing the river, and after a moment of silence, he leaned back on the couch:

"The righteous path will certainly protect Xie Jinhuan, but the Immortal Ancestor may not protect me. It seems that my days of indulging in sensual pleasures are coming to an end."

"Don't be so pessimistic. It's not easy for the leader to train a few people. If it weren't a last resort, would he let the righteous path eat them up for nothing? Besides, you've indulged your desires all these years, enjoying the carefree life that ordinary people could have for ten lifetimes. Even if you were to die for the sect, it wouldn't be a loss. As for Xie Jinhuan, his name is 'Jinhuan' (meaning 'enjoyment'), but he's always running around slaying demons and monsters. He's never truly enjoyed himself. If he dies, it would be a waste of his life..."

"That's true. These righteous people are always busy with this and that, and they're so detached from worldly desires. I really don't understand what they're after..."

……

(End of this chapter)