When Shi Changfeng heard Yan Liqiang’s words, he was shocked at first before he felt relieved. In the next moment, he seemed to have thought of something and was worried again. “If those people managed to extort information from Xue Cao and discovered that their cultivation yielded no results, wouldn’t they figure out that you are the founder of the Five Animal Frolics technique? That means you’ll be in danger!”
Shi Changfeng’s words made sense as this was the logical line of reasoning. As long as Xue Cao’s kidnappers had a sound mind, they might think of this possibility. Given the fact that Five Animal Frolics was an unprecedented technique on the Silver Continent, they’d naturally link the connection to Yan Liqiang. To lift the prohibition on cultivating the Five Animal Frolics technique, they’d just have to kill Yan Liqiang. This was no doubt a great temptation to those people, and the danger Yan Liqiang was about to face would be doubled.
“Theoretically speaking, this is a possible scenario!” Yan Liqiang nodded, but the expression on his face didn’t show the slightest difference.
“If I kidnapped Xue Cao and discovered that the Five Animal Frolics technique was useless to me after cultivating it, I would first suspect if there were any omissions in the secret technique from Xue Cao. Only after they confirm that there are no omissions in the secret technique from Xue Cao would they start suspecting that I am the key. However, to them, it is very unlikely that the problem lies with me. So I will only be in danger when that time comes. It seems like there’s nothing to worry about for now…”
“Liqiang, you mean to say that…”
“The simplest way to verify the validity of Xue Cao’s information on the Five Animal Frolics technique is to kidnap another student from the archery academy. They’d target the newer students…”
Shi Changfeng was surprised, but he soon noticed the expression on Yan Liqiang’s face. “Liqiang, are you planning to…”
Yan Liqiang nodded. “This is how we should deal with the situation. Other than that, we shouldn’t give up on other methods. After all, these are only our guesses. Xue Cao might have not returned due to other reasons. When I go back, I will issue an arrest warrant for the man who delivered the letter to Xue Cao, with a bounty of ten thousand taels of silver. I want to see him in person if he’s alive and if he’s not, then I want his dead body. Additionally, anyone who can provide valid clues about Xue Cao’s disappearance will be generously awarded.”
Shi Changfeng instantly drew a sharp breath because the bounty that Yan Liqiang proposed was too shocking. In the Great Han Empire, the number of arrest warrants with a bounty like that was countable on one hand. In addition, they were only searching for a relatively ordinary person this time. “I’m sure this amount is enough to make many Wanderers go crazy!”
“Whether the opponent has come for the Five Animal Frolics technique or not, I will make them feel the pressure for laying a finger on my men. If I can’t find them, I’ll suffocate them with money.”
“You’ll have to be more careful from now on, Liqiang. I have a feeling that Xue Cao’s disappearance is more than what meets the eye. Their ultimate objective is definitely you…!”
Yan Liqiang shook his head. “We’ll take it as it comes. After all, some things are unavoidable. The Great Han Empire is in great turmoil right now. No one knows what will happen next year, so surely someone will want to seize the opportunity to create trouble. The only thing we can do right now is focus on what we can do. No need to worry about my safety. I was a nobody when Lin Qingtian wanted my head. Even so, I managed to escape from the Imperial Capital safely to Gan Province. If they are after my life, I’ll see how many lives they are prepared to sacrifice…”
Yan Liqiang talked to Shi Changfeng for almost an hour in the room, trying to come up with a strategy to deal with the situation before them. By the time Shi Changfeng took his leave, it was already late into the night…
Since it was very late, Yan Liqiang decided to stay the night at the archery academy.
Although Yan Liqiang tried to reassure Shi Changfeng, Xue Cao’s disappearance had once again sounded an alarm in Yan Liqiang’s heart. It made him fully aware that they were still surrounded by threats and dangers lurking in the dark despite his current identity. According to the events that transpired in the Heavenly Realm, the Great Han Empire would start to descend into chaos next year.
This time, Yan Liqiang had spent a few years doing all he could in reality to give out early warnings and prepare other response plans, hoping to reduce the impact that the Heavenly Tribulation would bring to the Great Han Empire next year. Truth be told, up to this point, Yan Liqiang had no confidence that the fate of the Great Han Empire would turn out better than it did in the Heavenly Realm because he knew what he was going to face was no longer a human, but a non-human race that was beyond his imagination.
Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but shudder at the thought that there was a mastermind behind the terrifying Heavenly Tribulation which was supposedly willed by a powerful presence within the cosmic void. He knew the opponent wouldn’t stop with just that. The so-called Heavenly Tribulation wasn’t an end but merely the beginning…
He could only endure all the terrible thoughts in silence. He couldn’t even find someone to talk to.
Yan Liqiang completed his usual night regimen by performing two rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing and a round of fist practice in the secret chamber. After feeling the little bit of progress he made today, he went to sleep.
Early the next morning, Yan Liqiang’s return to the archery academy stirred up a commotion among the new students. Yan Liqiang watched their training. He even went down the fields to personally guide the new students in archery and riding, as well as interact with them. Only in the afternoon did he ride back to Pingxi City with his men.
At night on the same day, the envoy representing the Shatu Seven Tribes finally arrived at Pingxi City. There, they stayed the night at a posthouse on the outskirts of the city.
Yan Liqiang only received the envoy who came to negotiate with him in the drawing room of the Protectorate General’s Office the next noon after their arrival.
When Yan Liqiang saw the envoy coming toward him, he was stunned. It turned out that the envoy who came wasn’t a man, but a woman. She was a Shatu beauty who could enchant anyone with just her smile. When the woman undid her dark cloak to reveal her figure, even the guards outside the drawing room were stunned.
The woman’s eyes roamed over Yan Liqiang’s face before she bowed to him with a smile on her face. “The Shatu Seven Tribes envoy Sushali greets the Qiyun Protectorate General…”
At that moment, only a thought flashed through Yan Liqiang’s mind — The Shatu Seven Tribes are trying to honey trap me…
