The River Conservancy Office Was Truly Too Welcoming

"We need to find an opportunity to talk about it in person."

Long Zongyin sat cross-legged on the boulder, twirling his pearl bracelet, pondering how to find an opportunity to meet.

Long Binglin and Long E Ying were both young, and their intentions were too obvious, which made the River Conservancy Office notice something amiss and cause some misunderstanding. That's why they deliberately covered up the scene that day to be on guard.

It won't be easy to have another private meeting...

"Pingjiang, Ping He!"

"Elder!"

"Once the clan has gathered its Long Qi, you two will return to Pingyang Prefecture and stay by Lord Liang's side as guards."

"I don't expect you to serve me faithfully, but at least be capable subordinates. I'll try my luck at the River Conservancy Office to see if I can secure you both a minor official position, and hopefully, officially transfer you to serve under Lord Liang. That would be ideal."

"An official position?" Long Pingjiang hesitated. "Elder, please forgive my Pingjiang, River Conservancy Office Bureau agree? We Dragonfolk are, after all, a foreign race. Is it appropriate for us to serve in the imperial court...? Also, after I go to take up my post, will I still need to search for the Dragon Lord's whereabouts in Pingyang Prefecture?"

Long Zongyin shook his head.

"It's good that there are other races. The River Conservancy Office can cooperate with the Dragon Man Tribe and give them a few low-ranking official positions to strengthen ties. This is a good opportunity to open up the situation in the Great Marsh Swamp and use us as a springboard to make contact with the Frog Clan."

Even if it doesn't work out, the fact that Dragonfolk would voluntarily surrender could be considered a political achievement for an official, with the benefits outweighing the drawbacks, making a refusal unlikely.

I've worked with the River Conservancy Office once before. Their asking price was high, but for something as important as gathering Long Qi, it wasn't too outrageous.

The two sides already have a foundation of trust.

The foundation of trust means that one is followed by two, three, and four, which gradually emboldened Long Zongyin's attempts. He said this while pondering.

"The only thing that can be done is to transfer him to Water Official Liang's command... River Conservancy Office need to be discussed with Water Official Liang beforehand."

The search mission in Pingyang Prefecture cannot be neglected. I'll assign it to Long Zijian and Long Zihe, and send someone else to Fragrant Township County. What do you think?"

The two brothers exchanged a glance and knelt on one knee.

"I will follow the Elder's arrangements!"

"Um."

Silence fell over the underwater area.

moment.

"By the way, is Water Official Liang from Pingjiang a womanizer?"

"Women?" Long Pingjiang pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "No good. Lord Liang is a man of integrity. His residence is a three-courtyard house, inhabited only by two elderly men besides the Water Beast."

There are three, oh, four servants. One of them is a boy in his teens who takes care of the horses, and two women do the laundry and cooking. Not long ago, a young woman was brought in to help out. She is of average appearance and is the son of one of the women.

He has virtually no vices, and is generally upright and supportive of his own people. As for outsiders and enemies... we only participated in one field mission against the Snake Demon, so we have limited contact with him and know little about him."

Long Pingjiang recalled Liang Qu's trip to Fragrant Town the Snake Demon and "extort money" from him.

Not bad, but it's a little dusty.

Since they weren't considered family, the two couldn't determine the right or wrong of the matter, so they pretended not to know.

Long Zongyin nodded.

"Not lustful... but I can send two Dragon Girl over there."

That day, I heard that Liang Qu's ability to enlighten seemed to have no effect on the race.

He and the other two Elder all found it extremely mysterious.

The Jianghuai is vast; who knows what rare and exotic beasts, no less powerful than the Dragon Lord, might emerge from there?

One should not be arrogant.

Therefore, the Dragonfolk attach great importance to the matter of befriending Liang Qu, almost listing it as one of the most important matters in the clan.

If the Dragon Lord is truly nowhere to be found, and his divine power vanishes, or if the Flood Dragon successfully seizes the throne, Liang Qu might become a glimmer of hope for the Dragon Man Tribe.

Even so, Long Zongyin would not send the Dragon Girl to bed or perform such a flattering act.

The Dragonfolk are few in number, and every family is related by blood.

Which Dragon Girl, according to seniority, wouldn't have to call him Zong Yin Zongyin, or Grandfather?

They were all related by blood.

The other party is lustful, wicked, and ruthless; we must not push our clansmen into a pit of fire.

He wasn't interested in women, so he could confidently assign two of them to be maids and cultivate a relationship with them.

Whether it succeeds or fails, there is no harm in it.

"Try to find two small-sized people, not too flashy..."

In response to the strategic guidelines proposed by the other two Elder, Long Zongyin pondered and added various measures to foster good relations.

a long time.

Ripples spread from the opposite side of the valley, and the surging water could be felt by people dozens of miles away.

A fight has broken out over in the valley!

Looking into the distance.

The Frog Clan and the Iron Head Fish, transformed into black dots, collided, wielding their weapons and creating a wild white turbulent current.

The Dragonfolk and humans on the side displayed their Divine Ability, revealing a variety of true qi, including blue, red, green, and gold—all sorts of colors.

In the center stands a crimson roc, its head adorned with three blazing suns, strikingly prominent and exuding extraordinary power, its wings spread wide...

It was too far away to compare its size, but it was a size larger than the surrounding True Qi! It couldn't help but remind people of the Crimson Fire Bird that the Toad King had slaughtered.

The earth shook and mountains trembled, and turbulent currents flew everywhere.

Long Zongyin remained as steady as Mount Tai.

Since the Elder were so insistent, the young Dragonfolk had no choice but to suppress their anxiety and continue waiting.

With such a vast battlefield, their presence or absence wouldn't make a difference. Focus your attention on the ice-carrying boats from the River Conservancy Office.

As the war intensified, the dense black dots in the center of the water layer became sparse, and wounded frogs, fish, and people fell to the bottom of the water like raindrops.

"Elder, the ship is here!"

Long Zongyin looked up.

Four Broad-bellied Ark slowly sailed across the river.

"Let's go up!"

Leaping from the rock, Long Zongyin floated upwards, and dozens of Dragonfolk responded.

On the deck of the Broad-bellied Ark.

A row of "boatmen" had "heavy makeup" on their faces, and the boatmen washed their faces clean with water one by one.

The Steward stepped forward and examined each one individually, tearing off all the fake skins to reveal their true appearance.

Every single one of them looks different from the original!

With Great Martial Master Ran Zhongshi in charge, they made their move quietly, and the spies on the four ships couldn't even make a ripple.

Liang Qu didn't have time to use his Fifty Refined Profound Water Arrow; he only used a few ordinary arrows to sever the enemy's limbs before the battle was over.

He glanced around with his eyes lowered.

"These scouts are of high quality!"

Among the "lurkers" bound on the deck were twelve galloping Galloping Horse and two Wolf Smoke Expert!

Ran Zhongshi nodded and looked to both sides. "Interrogate them separately."

Alright!

Lu Kaiyun, Ren Yipeng, and others each took one of them and led them to the room prepared by the Steward for interrogation.

Ran Zhongshi personally questioned the remaining two Wolf Smoke Expert were lost in a "sweet dream".

Fifteen minutes later.

Intelligence gathered from multiple sources.

Although there are slight discrepancies, they all converge to form a relatively clear pattern.

When faced with torture, a person's will is not as firm as one might imagine. Martial arts masters might be a little stronger, but not many.

Liang Qu stepped forward.

"A mid-level Hunting Tiger Great Martial Master and a low-level Hunting Tiger Great Martial Master, the two of them leading sixteen Wolf Smoke Martial Master, are waiting forty miles to the north? Are they planning to watch from the sidelines?"

Forty li away, neither too far nor too near, neither offering help nor offering assistance, clearly indicating they are observing the situation.

Ren Yipeng rested his chin on his hand. "The relationship between the Ghost Mother Sect and the Iron Head Fish doesn't seem to be as good as I imagined."

Bai Yinbin looked around.

"Two Hunting Tiger Martial Master and sixteen Wolf Smoke Masters, we don't have enough manpower. There's only one Grand Martial Great Martial Master, Brother Zhong Shi. Not to mention the Great Martial Master, just the Wolf Smoke Martial Master alone, we each have to fight four of them. Unless the battle in the valley is over, we can borrow more people. By then, everything will be settled, and the Ghost Mother Sect won't have run away."

"Not necessarily." Liang Qu stomped his feet on the boat's deck. "Aren't the Dragonfolk coming to collect the ice? They should be bringing quite a few people with them."

Lu Kaiyun's eyes lit up. "Let the Dragonfolk go with us to fight the Ghost Mother Sect?"

Bai Yinbin looked back at the valley. "When I saw the valley in a standoff earlier, it seemed that the Dragonfolk Elder wasn't there. Maybe it was that Elder who came to collect the ice. He must be a peak Great Martial Master! Taking on two people at once wouldn't be a problem. Plus, with Brother Zhong Shi... this is going to be interesting!"

"Would the Elder agree to that?"

"The Dragon Man Tribe has already contributed 500,000 taels, so they shouldn't mind doing another small favor for their ally, right?" Liang Qu estimated. "If we act quickly, we might be able to outflank the Ghost Mother Sect, then turn around and re-enter the battle to support everyone. Both of those credits will be ours."

Coming out to gather Long Qi and fight with the Iron Head Fish is a private matter.

The Demon-Slaying Ghost Mother Sect is not like that!

The group of people who came out to escort the ice block not only captured the Ghost Mother Sect's spy, but also managed to wipe out a small unit of the enemy with their weak strength. Each of them would definitely be a Great Merit!

Ran Zhongshi immediately made the decision.

"Do as A Shui says! We finally managed to easily capture a group of spies and find out about their situation. We can't let this opportunity slip away."

Outside the Broad-bellied Ark.

Before Long Zongyin even boarded the ship, he saw Ran Zhongshi warmly greeting him and personally lowering the suspension ladder.

"The River Conservancy Office is surprisingly hospitable..."