Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Where are the both of you from? How should I address the both you?”
“We are from Wang Jing. My surname is Ye, and you can call me Ye Yunxian.” Ren Baqian made up a name. He didn’t know much about the Yun Nation, but he did know of two places. One was the capital Wang Jing, and the other was Qingfeng City.
As for the Yun Nation people, he only knew one person, which was Ye Ke, the warlord of Qingfeng City. That “thing” was extremely daring to steal from him, and the empress had already arranged for the extermination of his entire family.
After all, he was just pretending to be a merchant from the Yun Nation. Prior to coming here, he didn’t do any homework with regard to the various aspects of the Yun Nation. Never would he have expected that things would turn out like this.
“Ye Yunxian, an immortal among the clouds with overflowing magic breath. Nice name,” Painting Fairy, who was at the side, praised Ren Baqian.
[1.Xian: immortal in Chinese]
“Previously, the two members from the Nine Blades Sect only briefly mentioned the reason why you have come. I wonder if Mister Ye can tell us in detail about the purpose of your visit?” asked the external attendant, Ling Zekuan. What he asked was also what everyone else wanted to ask. This was the top thing that everyone wanted to know.
At this moment, everyone was in the middle of the banquet, and there were 17 pearls radiating in midair. The lighting was pleasant, soft, and wasn’t glaring. It was unlike the candle lamps that would assail the nostrils of people. The entire hall was illuminated.
Ren Baqian was envious when he saw these things and knew they weren’t ordinary night pearls because these 17 pearls could light up the entire hall. These pearls even caught up with the technology of a 40-watt light bulb and could definitely be regarded as a treasure.
Zhan Changkong and Painting Fairy were seated at the head of the long, narrow table. Ren Baqian and Lin Qiaole were seated further down from them. As for the two members of the Nine Blades sect, they were seated after Ren Baqian and Lin Qiaole.
Across from them were the six important attendants of the Golden Ring Residence. At this moment, they were finally in full attendance.
“We share the same enemy,” Ren Baqian said first. When he spoke, he looked at Lin Qiaole from the corner of his eye. He saw that she was building a tower with the pile of candies he had just given her. Thereafter, she took a piece from the middle of the pile, and immediately, the candies were scattered everywhere.
Everyone nodded their heads in succession. Indeed, the aboriginals were their common enemy.
“Your homeland has been occupied by them, leaving all of you with no choice but to inhabit a place like this. Just like a caged bird, the majority of the people aren’t able to step out of here in their entire life.”
Everyone revealed a mournful expression on their face.
What Ren Baqian said really hit home.
Nobody was willing to be kept here like a bird in a cage, even if it was an extremely huge place and so huge that no ordinary person would be able to walk around the entire piece of land. Still, this couldn’t conceal the fact that they had been detained here.
The vast and boundless world outside was what they really yearned for.
“After all these years, this is the best opportunity for all of you. Dayao has just fought a war with Great Xia and is currently at war with us. Dayao is practically too occupied to deal with anything else. If all of you revolt at this time, they would be attacked from both sides. It would inevitably create chaos for them. There is also the Yun Nation forces that are pinning down Dayao’s soldiers in the northeast. All of you will be under the least pressure. In the north, there is Great Xia. I presume that they won’t sit still. At that time, there would be disasters everywhere, and Dayao certainly wouldn’t be able to hold on any longer. This is the best opportunity for all of you to leave this place and recapture the land that belongs to you,” Ren Baqian said very slowly.
Even though what he said was something that everyone knew, his words touched the bottom of their hearts because this was what everyone felt.
Didn’t Great Xia send someone over for the same reason?
It was indeed the best opportunity of the last 70 years. If they wanted to wait for another opportunity, perhaps it might be many years down the road.
“We are also aware of this matter. However, if we want to revolt, action must be taken. I wonder if Mister Ye is able to assist us?” asked Zhan Changkong bluntly as they both had the same goal. In that case, they didn’t need to probe each other any longer.
He was hoping for them to talk about the main point.
“20,000 spear tips and 5,000 swords. Of course, these will not be gifted for free,” Ren Baqian said indifferently.
“What are your terms and conditions?”
“You need to revolt as soon as possible, preferably within three months. In addition, there are still some issues that you will not be allowed to decide.” Ren Baqian said. Although everything was fake, the conditions had to be laid out. The harsher the conditions, the easier it was for the other party to believe him.
If he didn’t mention any terms and conditions, he might have given away some clues on accident.
Often, humans were just so strange. They hoped that others would be generous toward them, but when people became generous, they became suspicious instead.
“We are still in the middle of preparations…” Zhan Changkong replied.
“Opportunity passes by as quickly as time flies. By the time you are ready, Dayao will also be ready. According to the information I obtained, they are already training their recruits.
“How many of them?” Zhan Changkong hurriedly asked.
“40,000 recruits.”
Immediately, the room went silent.
40,000 soldiers. Regardless of whether Great Xia or the Yun Nation had 40,000 soldiers, they wouldn’t be able to create a storm.
However, if there were 40,000 aboriginal soldiers, that wouldn’t be a small amount anymore.
The room fell completely silent. Ren Baqian was looking down while the others were thinking in silence.
“This is a big issue and does not only involve our Golden Ring Residence. It would be better to discuss it later. It would be better for Mister Ye to meet with the higher-ups of our alliance to discuss everything in detail.”
This wasn’t something that the Golden Ring Residence could take charge of. After racking his brain for a while, Zhan Changkong decided to put aside this matter first as he was only here to entertain the guests. It was sufficient for them to know the purpose of this visit as well as some other basic information. Next, he would leave everything else for the alliance to handle.
“When can I meet the higher-ups of your alliance?” Ren Baqian asked. “I don’t have much time to waste over here.”
“Mister Ye must be exhausted after traveling for such a long distance. Take a short rest first. I’ll send someone to escort you tomorrow as it’ll take eight to nine days of travel.”
“First, however, let me propose a toast to Mister Ye. Whatever the case, you are our friend.” Zhan Changkong raised his wine cup and proposed a toast from a distance.
“Cheers.”
As Ren Baqian drank it in one gulp, his expression changed. This wine was unexpectedly good. Even though it wasn’t strong, it was sweet and palatable. There was the aroma of a plant. After gulping down a cup of wine, he instantly felt rejuvenated, as if the exhaustion from traveling day after day had disappeared by a large degree.
“Mister Ye, you shouldn’t have ever tasted this wine before. After making this wine, it’s stored in the trunk of a tree for a year and then enclosed in a mud jar for three years. The wine that Mister Ye just drank was stored in a millennium old tree trunk. Every year, we only make about 50 kilograms of it. I can’t even bring myself to drink it on normal days.”
“Indeed, it’s pretty good.” Ren Baqian nodded. He finally found an advantage that these remnant citizens of the Hao Nation possessed. They make rather good wine.
In the future, he would gather a group of people to specialize in wine brewing.
“Come in!” Zhan Changkong then clapped his hands. 16 girls who were in their teenage years entered the hall. Among them, the eight girls who were holding musical instruments stood at the side. The other eight girls, who were holding ribbons in their hands, began to dance as music was played.
Following the girls’ dance poses, their graceful figures which were faintly discernible, and the ribbons that were flying in midair, Ren Baqian’s attention was captured.
He had to admit that these remnant citizens of the Hao Nation were much stronger than the aboriginals in this aspect. The aboriginals’ dance was full of primitive unruliness. Although it was rather tasteful if he watched the aboriginals occasionally, the girls dancing now were more suited to his taste because they were more aesthetically pleasing.
In particular, one of the girls exuded the vitality of youth. Her skin was fair, and her appearance was outstanding. Every frown and every smile of hers was extremely attractive. Compared to the two other outstanding women he had seen in this world, this girl’s appearance wasn’t lacking either.
The most attractive thing about her was her eyes, which were clear and full of curiosity, as if she was a girl who was clueless about the world. She gave off an innocent vibe that made Ren Baqian feel that his inner thoughts were completely clean after seeing her.
Ren Baqian found the second advantage of these remnant citizens of the Hao Nation.
Later, it would be a good idea to gather a bunch of them and have them dance in the palace whenever he wanted.
Yes, he also had to bring back the 17 pearls on their heads.
Zhan Changkong had noticed Ren Baqian’s expression. Seeing that he was all smiles, Zhan Changkong laughed and said, “If Mister Ye fancies any of them, I can gift them as a present to you. I only hope that Mister Ye will take good care of them in the future.”
“Eh?” Immediately, everyone was alarmed. With the exception of one girl, the other seven girls didn’t matter. This one girl, however, was the youngest daughter of the chief of the Golden Ring Residence and was also his precious gem.
To everyone’s surprise, she had actually appeared together with all the other dancer girls. This already took everyone aback, but what Zhan Changkong said made their jaws dropped.
Everyone looked at Painting Fairy and realized that she was acting as if she didn’t hear anything.
Zhan Changkong looked at Ren Baqian with his smiling eyes. There was a hint of anticipation in his gaze.
No matter what, there would definitely be war in the future. If it was their victory, there wouldn’t be a problem. If they were defeated, however, only a few of them would survive. In particular, Dayao definitely wouldn’t spare a sect like the Golden Ring Residence.
Even though it was unpleasant to hear that he was sending Caixian away, it was her only opportunity to escape. Even if they were defeated, she would be able to survive.
This man from the Yun Nation, who had a Spirit Wheel bodyguard, was someone with a high status. In this case, it wouldn’t be considered tarnishing Caixian’s life.
