People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 441, A Terrifying Enemy is Coming

Nanyang, Xiangyang City.

"He's in Luyang City? It seems our general has developed a deep unease about this illustrious Marquis in Blood Robes."

Upon hearing the whereabouts of the Jade Tiger, Han Fei revealed a playful smile and toyed with the gold coins in his hand.

After learning of the drought in Nanyang, Han Fei and Wei Zhuang came to Nanyang to investigate the situation. In just over ten days, they had already found out the causes and consequences of the drought and also learned that Emerald Tiger was hoarding grain and taking the opportunity to annex the people's land.

However, the people actually doing these things outside were the servants and merchants under Emerald Tiger's command, while he himself was hiding somewhere controlling the whole situation.

Arresting and killing these merchants would be of no use. Jade Tiger would continue to send people to acquire land for profit. Therefore, Han Fei's target was not these subordinates, but Jade Tiger, this fat tiger.

"Two tigers cannot share one mountain. Moreover, Bai Yifei is far more sober and powerful than Ji Wuye, a tiger who indulges in wine and women. An old tiger will inevitably be wary of and suppress an ambitious young tiger."

Wei Zhuang walked to the table and sat down, placing the Shark Tooth sword he was holding on it. His fingers lightly brushed against the scabbard as he continued, his gaze icy.

"There's something even more interesting. The reason the Seven Absolutes Hall was able to find out where Jade Tiger was is because of Tang Qi's former comrade-in-arms, now a centurion in the White Armor Army."

"White Armor Army? Is Bai Yifei deliberately leaking Emerald Tiger's whereabouts? It seems he's unwilling to be devoured by Ji Wuye and Emerald Tiger, so he wants to use our strength to fight back."

Han Fei's smile faded, and he walked to sit opposite Wei Zhuang, speaking with a solemn expression.

"I'm afraid this is poison disguised as sugar. If Liu Sha swallows this poisoned honey, they might not even get the tiger's hair, and will only be doing the work for someone else," Wei Zhuang said, looking at Han Fei.

Han Fei remained silent, agreeing with Wei Zhuang's view.

They all knew that the Nightfall was not a monolithic entity. However, after his eldest brother, the Crown Prince, and his fourth brother, Han Yu, died at the hands of Tianze, Ji Wuye no longer had any puppets to support. Therefore, in order to fight against Quicksand, they would unite despite their internal discord.

Ji Wuye sent Jade Tiger to Nanyang to warn Bai Yifei, but Bai Yifei, for the sake of the bigger picture, turned a blind eye to Jade Tiger's actions.

This was Han Fei and Wei Zhuang's initial assessment of the situation in Nightfall and Nanyang. However, Bai Yifei's sudden desire to use Quicksand to deal with Emerald Tiger was clearly detrimental to Nanyang's current situation, which aroused Han Fei's suspicion.

"Whether Jade Tiger is poison or candy is not important. What I want to know is why Bai Yifei suddenly decided to target Jade Tiger? If he really wanted to protect his own interests, he should have taken action after we entered Nanyang, instead of waiting until the drought in Nanyang was so severe because of Jade Tiger before taking action."

Han Fei placed the gold coins in his hand on the table and said in a heavy voice.

"Do you think someone gave Bai Yifei confidence, making him feel that he can compete with Ji Wuye, and even if he is no match for Ji Wuye, he can still ensure his safety?" Wei Zhuang said thoughtfully.

"It's not that I think it's wrong, but Bai Yifei's behavior is not in line with human nature. People are profit-driven. If you choose to give up certain interests in order to protect your long-term interests, then you won't turn back at the last minute and end up with nothing."

"This is really strange. It's impossible for Bai Yifei to do this. There must be some external force that gave Bai Yifei confidence so that he dared to do it."

"And for some reason, I have a deep sense of unease. My intuition tells me that once quicksand gets involved, the final result will be something none of us want to see."

Han Fei looked at Wei Zhuang and said with unease, his whole body tense, like a fierce tiger facing a formidable enemy.

Wei Zhuang looked at Han Fei with some surprise. Although he didn't say it, he admitted in his heart that Han Fei's intelligence was among the best in the world. Since returning to Han, no matter what trouble he encountered, Han Fei would easily resolve it.

This was the first time Wei Zhuang had ever seen someone so wary and on high alert.

"Who can give Bai Yifei such confidence? There is no one in South Korea, and outside of South Korea, there is only that person."

Wei Zhuang looked westward, gazing at the dark night sky outside, his body tensing up.

Han Fei's hands were slightly clenched, and his face was more serious than ever before. He knew that Wei Zhuang was talking about Xu Qing, and the only person who had contact with Bai Yifei and could give him confidence was Xu Qing.

"Compared to this result, I would prefer that Jade Tiger's behavior crossed Bai Yifei's bottom line, or that Bai Yifei suddenly became muddle-headed," Han Fei said with a wry smile.

"Deceiving yourself won't change the outcome," Wei Zhuang said coldly.

Han Fei shrugged helplessly. Although the guess was hard to believe, after eliminating all other possibilities, whatever remained, however unbelievable it might seem, must be the answer.

"I just don't understand why Brother Xu would suddenly help Bai Yifei? Although the two have some connection, it's not enough for Brother Xu to disregard his current situation and still spare the energy to help Bai Yifei," Han Fei said.

"He cannot be judged by common sense. As for the reasons, aren't there many people and things to support them?"

As Wei Zhuang spoke, a hint of disdain appeared on his face, and his gaze toward Han Fei carried a touch of mockery.

Han Fei scratched his head awkwardly. He knew that Wei Zhuang was not mocking him, but his father.

Since the quicksand discovered that the palace's temptress was Lady Mingzhu, they also uncovered other things, such as Xu Qing going to Mingzhu Palace to take pulses when on night duty. Although the Imperial Hospital's records documented these visits, Xu Qing was the kind of person who would dare to burn down a granary with a fire dragon, so even Han Fei would find the records too hard to use as toilet paper.

Han Fei knew very well who Xu Qing was. It was impossible for Xu Qing to simply be honestly taking pulses; the relationship between the two was definitely not innocent.

Given Xu Qing's personality of being quick to anger for a woman, his decision to help his cousin Bai Yifei for the sake of Madam Mingzhu has some merit, though not much.

“However, given Brother Xu’s character, he wouldn’t act for a woman or out of hatred. He must have other motives,” Han Fei said, shaking his head.

"Who can say for sure? He was willing to disregard his hard-earned reputation for Lady Hu, and he was also willing to be distracted for Lady Mingzhu. Although it is incomprehensible to others, he is someone who cannot be predicted by common sense."

Wei Zhuang glanced at Han Fei and couldn't help but continue speaking.
"Your father, the King of Han, is truly disappointing. It's understandable that the court has fallen into disarray, but the turmoil in the harem is enough to make him a laughingstock."

Han Fei opened his mouth, wanting to say something in defense of King An of Han, but the facts were right in front of him, and he had nothing to say. He could only cough twice and change the subject.
"Ahem, I think we should continue discussing what to do next?"

"For Quicksand, the best option now is to leave Nanyang. Nanyang will become a battlefield fraught with danger. Rather than staying here and becoming a sword in someone else's hands, it's better to leave and preserve their strength," Wei Zhuang said calmly.

Han Fei glanced at Wei Zhuang, his initially awkward expression gradually hardening into a resolute one, and shook his head, saying...

"If Liu Sha leaves, the situation in Nanyang will probably be even worse. Liu Sha can leave, but I cannot."

"Womanly compassion," Wei Zhuang said coldly, without any politeness.

"Whether it's womanly compassion or concern for the common people, I cannot abandon Nanyang. Hundreds of thousands of people from Han live here, and I cannot watch them become victims of power struggles," Han Fei said in a deep voice, his hands clenched tightly.

Han Fei looked at Wei Zhuang's indifferent face with exceptionally firm eyes.

Nanyang is the Nanyang of Korea, and the people of Nanyang are the people of Korea, his subjects. He cannot remain indifferent to the fact that his subjects are about to be in danger, simply to protect himself.

If he could sacrifice Nanyang for his own benefit, then he would be no different from Ji Wuye.

Namyang accounts for half of South Korea's tax revenue. If something happens to Namyang, South Korea's future will likely be even more difficult.

Wei Zhuang looked coldly at Han Fei, picked up the Shark Tooth sword, and turned to leave.

"Brother Wei Zhuang, where are you going?" Han Fei asked in confusion.

"Seven Absolutes Hall".

After leaving a cold remark, Wei Zhuang jumped out of the window with his hood up, disappearing into the night.

Han Fei watched Wei Zhuang leave helplessly, a feeling of gratitude welling up in his heart. He knew that Wei Zhuang had gone to gather intelligence for him.

Although Wei Zhuang mocked him with cold words, he would ultimately stand firmly by his side. Having a friend like Wei Zhuang, who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, was one of the greatest blessings of his life.

"Meeting Brother Wei Zhuang is one of the greatest joys of my life, but Brother Xu, you truly make me both love and hate you."

Han Fei looked in the direction of Mount Taiyi and said with a sigh.

If his guess is true, if Liu Sha stays in Nanyang, he will inevitably have to confront Xu Qing, who has become the Grand Minister of Qin.

Han Fei was extremely unwilling to be enemies with such a formidable foe as Xu Qing. It wasn't that he felt inferior to Xu Qing, but rather that Xu Qing's methods were beyond his comprehension, let alone how to deal with them.

Ji Wuye wielded great power in Korea and was ruthless and cunning, but Xu Qing used a more overt strategy, leveraging the prevailing circumstances to put the enemy in a dilemma.

"Yang Mou, Brother Xu, Brother Wei Zhuang, which of you two is the true disciple of Guigu?"

After making a helpless remark, Han Fei fell into deep thought again, his face full of worry.

Just as he had said before, he didn't believe that Xu Qing was helping Bai Yifei because of the Tide Demoness. Xu Qing must have his own purpose, but what was it? He had to figure it out so that he could prepare in advance.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, Han Fei still couldn't understand the reason.

"No matter what your purpose is, as long as you quell the drought in Nanyang and defeat the Emerald Tiger before you make your move, you will have no chance to use your methods," Han Fei thought to himself.

Since the problem cannot be solved, then address its root cause—this is the approach Han Fei learned from Xu Qing.

(End of this chapter)