Entering the courtyard, Yuan Tiangang was sitting there, facing Chu Xuanao's direction. Upon seeing him, he rose and bowed.
Chu Xuanao walked over and sat beside Yuan Tiangang, gesturing downward with his right hand before Yuan Tiangang sat back down.
Other than Chu Xuanao, no one in the courtyard could see Yuan Tiangang.
Earlier, Yuan Tiangang had imbued his eyes with his own power of heaven and earth, allowing him to see and locate Yuan Tiangang.
After sitting down and collecting himself, Chu Xuanao gave instructions to those in the courtyard.
"Other than Qiuyue and Shuangxue, everyone else may leave. When Xiao Dezi and the others arrive later, stop anyone else who comes."
After the maids withdrew, only five people remained in the courtyard.
Chu Xuanao sat with Qiuyue and Shuangxue at his side; Yuan Tiangang remained hidden; Ghost Servant sat cross-legged atop the roof.
Just now, Yuan Tiangang had transmitted the information he gained from deducing last night's celestial signs directly to Chu Xuanao.
One wave after another. He had not even gone to his fief yet, and trouble from the fief had already come knocking.
And it was a huge one at that.
And that thing lying there—what gave it the right to be matched with the Ziwei Emperor Star?
What the hell were those Great Feng idiots doing, raising that guy so fat?
Now it even dared invade You Province. With the two nations at war, wasn't this simply giving that guy an opportunity?
As he was thinking, several people had already arrived.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
Zhu Wushi and the others arrived quickly with Xiao Dezi.
There was no helping it. The moment His Highness called out, Xiao Dezi practically wished he could grow wings and fly over to fetch them.
He first rushed to tell Zhu Wushi that His Highness was in urgent need and asked the senior to hurry over. Then Zhu Wushi grabbed him by the collar, brought Bai Yi along, and flew here.
His Maternal Aunt, however, had not come. Ever since receiving the Gentle Sword, she had reportedly spent all day practicing swordsmanship yesterday, unable to put it down.
Early this morning, she had gone into the palace to share the Gentle Sword with his mother consort. Well, in truth, his mother consort understood that toy sword even better than his Maternal Aunt did.
After Zhu Wushi, his Maternal Grandfather, the Four Secret Agents, and the others had all arrived, Ghost Servant silently descended from the rooftop and landed beside Chu Xuanao.
A faint smile appeared on Zhu Wushi's face as he spoke first.
"Your Highness, what orders do you have that are so urgent?"
Yuan Tiangang had not told Zhu Wushi and the others about these matters beforehand. Since completing his deduction last night, Yuan Tiangang had remained seated in Chu Xuanao's courtyard, waiting to report.
"Come out!"
As Chu Xuanao's words fell, Yuan Tiangang suddenly appeared, seated beside him. Or rather, he had never moved at all; he had merely removed his concealment.
Zhu Wushi and the others showed no unusual reaction. Naturally, they knew who this man was.
Qiuyue, Shuangxue, and Xiao Dezi, however, stared in shock at Yuan Tiangang, who had appeared like a ghost.
Shuangxue in particular widened her eyes, her small mouth slightly open as though she had been stunned. She and Qiuyue stood on either side of His Highness, while Yuan Tiangang sat right beside her—very, very close.
Shuangxue's eyes met Yuan Tiangang's anciently calm gaze. She blinked, her face full of question marks.
Shuangxue: How did you get here?
Yuan Tiangang: ...
Bai Yi looked at Yuan Tiangang with a grave expression, inwardly shocked. The Celestial Phenomenon Realm.
When this man appeared, he had sensed nothing. His aura was like an abyss; he was absolutely not in the Ascension Realm.
Seeing that Zhu Wushi and the others remained calm, he knew they had long been acquainted with this man and had dealt with him before.
His grandson was quite capable, to have even befriended an expert of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.
"Enough. Tell us about the situation in You Province!"
Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat stiff, Chu Xuanao spoke and brought them back to the matter at hand.
Qiuyue, Shuangxue, and Xiao Dezi had all been by his side since childhood. They shared glory and ruin with him, so there was no issue with these three.
Qiuyue and Shuangxue had even been at negative distance from him at times.
As for his Maternal Grandfather, there was even less need to say anything. Everyone here was one of their own. Even if he did not tell them now, they would learn eventually.
There was no need to hide things too carefully from his own people.
Chu Xuanao seemed to hear something again and nodded slightly.
"Great Feng is attacking the pass."
Hearing Yuan Tiangang's words, Bai Yi's expression turned complicated as he slowly spoke those four words.
Bai Yi felt a trace of sympathy for his grandson. Good grandson, your timing really was impeccable!
You had really run straight into it.
The last time Great Feng invaded had been more than thirty years ago. If this was true, his grandson's fief was about to become very lively indeed.
It was usually rather lively anyway. After all, this was already the border between two nations, with only the Xuanshan Plain serving as a buffer in between. It could be said that both sides came and went freely.
Small-scale conflicts between the two nations never ceased. It was like sneaking over today to steal one of your chickens, only for someone to sneak over that night and lead away your family's cow.
Well, he was talking about people.
War had never truly stopped; there was only a difference in scale. But an open assault on the pass was another matter entirely. The Youzhou Grand Camp had four hundred thousand troops guarding the You border.
If Great Feng sent too few men and acted so arrogantly, there might not even be enough for everyone to get a share.
The two outer prefectures along You Province's border were Youguan Prefecture and Hanshan Prefecture. Now Hanshan Prefecture had become his grandson's fief, his private territory.
If Great Feng invaded, the first places attacked would be the two border prefectures. The first to suffer would be his grandson.
Bai Yi said gravely.
"Xuao, it is your territory now. What are your thoughts?
Why not find a way to delay your departure for the fief?"
Given the current situation, Bai Yi believed the best course was to delay. His grandson was favored, after all. If he truly wanted to stall, delaying for half a year would be the bare minimum.
Even if Great Feng attacked, so what? He did not believe Dagan would hand You Province over.
But this was also because there was truly no better option. If hundreds of thousands of soldiers clashed, throwing Bai Yi into the battle would be useless as well!
And with the few men his grandson had, to be honest, they would be utterly useless in a large-scale war.
This senior of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm would be useful, but the various nations had a prohibition: Heaven Realm experts were not allowed to participate in wars between the armies of two nations.
If Heaven Realm experts wanted to fight, they could start a Heaven Realm war, with the Heaven Realm experts of each nation facing one another. In battles between armies, the Ascension Realm was the highest level permitted to participate.
After all, once one reached the Heaven Realm, one was no longer really human. He might not be able to kill hundreds of thousands of people, but hundreds of thousands of people would absolutely be unable to kill him. They might not even catch a glimpse of a Heaven Realm expert's exhaust.
He could even turn around at any time, kill another batch of people, and give them some motivation. Otherwise, they might stop chasing him.
Therefore, this senior of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm could only ensure his grandson's safety. But if his grandson fled, his reputation would be utterly ruined, and he would never recover in this lifetime. It would be better to delay going in the first place and wait until the war between the two nations was over.
He would not even need to delay for too long. As long as he could stall until the great war began, Bai Yi did not believe Chu Tianxiong would personally send his own son into that meat grinder.
Well, the Fourth Prince was an exception.
Xiao Dezi, Qiuyue, and Shuangxue stood nearby, deeply shocked by this news. They even felt a trace of fear, yet they could do nothing but lower their heads silently.
They could not help His Highness. They lacked strategic ability, and in a war between two nations, they had no talent for commanding troops.
As for cultivation, there was even less to say. On the battlefield, the few of them would not even be able to protect themselves.
So they had no right to speak.
Haitang, who stood nearby, had just been about to speak when she saw Zhu Wushi's meaningful look and remained silent.
Zhu Wushi, on the other hand, knew even more. The master of the hall had already transmitted everything to him, and Zhu Wushi now knew it all. His heart was in turmoil as well.
Yuan Tiangang had not revealed everything he had foreseen. Only Chu Xuanao and Zhu Wushi knew the full truth. What he had said was merely that Great Feng would attack the pass.
After all, some information truly was not easy to reveal or explain, and saying it would be of no use anyway.
Chu Xuanao had agreed to this as well. First drive Great Feng back and hold You Province, then discuss the rest.
Some matters only seemed troublesome because they had all piled up together, making people feel irritated. But they still had to be faced; hiding was useless, and some things could not be avoided.
At times like this, one had to take things slowly. There was no rushing it. They had to unravel the threads, separate them one by one, and resolve each matter, each person, in turn.
Before you continue