"My lord!" Qing Su wanted to speak, but was pulled back by Wei Li beside her. "Don't worry, with me by your side, even if we die, I'll be the one to die first."
Wei Li smiled broadly, as if she were talking about an outing rather than death.
"You're almost at the Fifth Grade, aren't you?" Zhang Rongfang asked with a smile. He had noticed Qing Su's progress.
"Yes," Qing Su was taken aback, then lowered her head and answered affirmatively.
"Go. You've already proven yourself. That's enough. But Wei Li isn't enough," Zhang Rongfang said.
Qing Su glanced at him, then at Wei Li, and said nothing more.
"This world..." Zhang Rongfang didn't actually want to spend all his time scheming and calculating.
If he had enough strength, wouldn't it be wonderful if he went alone and wiped out all his enemies?
Unfortunately, he doesn't have that ability yet.
So he was waiting.
He waited for the Attribute Panel to bring him new hope.
"Once this matter is settled, the entire Wushan Prefecture should be more stable," he said with a smile.
"Then everyone can practice their skills in peace and enjoy life. By the way, the fresh meat dumplings in Wushan Prefecture are quite delicious. You haven't tried them yet, have you? I'll take you to try them later."
"Then it's a date?" Wei Li said with a smile.
"Does Your Excellency keep your word?" Qing Su held out her hand.
"Of course it counts." Zhang Rongfang reached out and gently patted her on the shoulder.
At this moment, a Black Mask Golden Wing Tower Member quickly entered the garden and knelt on one knee.
"My lord, all 367 men and women imprisoned by the Dream Boat Society have been rescued and placed in the Spirit Hermitage Villa."
"Three hundred and sixty-seven people." Zhang Rongfang's smile slowly faded. These were only the ones who were kept because they were less attractive.
The others, who were even more beautiful, had probably already been sent to unknown places by the Sea Dragon.
"That Sea Dragon truly deserves to die!" He inexplicably thought of his sister, Zhang Rongyu.
If his sister hadn't been with her brother-in-law, given her looks and her status Barbarian Confucian, she would likely have been captured by Sea Dragon in the future as well. The thought of this filled him with an indescribable sense of oppression.
"Take good care of these people, especially those Dream Nectar, and find a solution as soon as possible," he said in a deep voice.
The newcomer was one of the Fifth Grade Master who had surrendered to White Eagle. Upon hearing this, he immediately looked troubled.
"My lord, it's not that we're incompetent, but the Dream Nectar itself has no antidote; we can only keep taking it to alleviate the side effects."
"Furthermore, many of these people are physically disabled, and many have had their families deliberately disappeared. If we were to support them like this, the expenses would be enormous."
"Dream Nectar," Zhang Rongfang pondered. "Doesn't Xiang Ling know the antidote either?"
"No. There is no antidote for this," the man replied.
"Control the technicians refining the Dream Nectar, so that Duan Gu can begin. Release the news of Xiang Ling's location being trapped, and say that I intend to discuss reconciliation terms with them," Zhang Rongfang said after thinking for a moment.
"Then, sir, what is the specific time?"
"Without further ado, I will await your arrival at Shu Family Fortress tonight."
"But sir, what if they don't come?" Qing Su couldn't help but ask.
"No, they will come." Zhang Rongfang smiled. "This is a direct provocation. They are confident in their strength and will naturally choose the easiest and simplest way to resolve the situation."
"But what if Sea Dragon and the Huang Family join forces? You're all alone, aren't you in trouble?" Qing Su asked worriedly.
"Don't worry. We have powerful backers too. The Huang Family won't dare to make a move. The only one who will truly act without restraint is Sea Dragon."
"Besides, your master is quite powerful." Zhang Rongfang touched his cold mask.
*** Shu Family Fortress is located in the southern part of Wushan Prefecture.
This place was originally a private fortress built to resist the invasion of the Great Ling Army.
Unfortunately, wherever the Great Ling went, none could rival it.
Shu Family Fortress became history, and all the thousands of members of the Shujia Lineage within it perished.
Although the man is dead, the name of the fortress remains.
Everyone's gotten used to calling it that, so they're too lazy to change it.
Late at night.
The rain gradually stopped, the temperature began to drop, and a thin layer of ice began to form on the ground.
There is a direct Great Way from Wushan Prefecture to Shu Family Fortress.
Shu Family Fortress is now abandoned and has become a ruin, but there are still many tourists from surrounding villages and towns who come to visit it.
At this time, the potholes on the Official Road, caused by oxcarts and freight trucks, were filled with water.
First Squad, the heavy sound of hooves approached rapidly.
The horse's hoof slammed into the crater, splashing and bursting the water inside.
First Squad of tall figures riding variegated horses, all wearing black cloaks to conceal the night and bamboo hats, galloped swiftly on their backs.
The cavalry consisted of about ten men at the front and back. After they charged forward, soon more First Squad of people trotted in from the rear.
They were all burly men, dressed in simple leather armor, wearing leather hats, and carrying long clubs covered with iron.
The backs of the servants' clothes were embroidered with clear yellow characters.
They marched by in a line, and at a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.
This is the Huang Family's foundation.
Before long, the cavalry arrived at Shu Family Fortress first.
We stopped when we were about 100 meters away from the Earthen Fort.
The person at the front straightened up, looked up and took off his leather hat, revealing Huang Yixi's cold face.
As one of only two Ninth Grade Masters in the Huang Family, and also the strongest among them, he chose to take action personally.
He left his father, whose skills had declined, to guard the Lineage.
The Huang Family is a prominent family that attracts a lot of attention and has made many enemies and rivals over the years. Therefore, someone in the family must be there to keep things under control.
Right now, he and Huang Lanxin, Eighth Grade official who came with him, are the greatest force that the Huang Family can mobilize this time.
"Have Sea Dragon's men arrived?" Huang Yixi asked in a deep voice, gazing at the quiet Shu Family Fortress in the distance.
"I'm not sure, but they should have arrived by now. We saw the coded markings they left behind," Huang Lanxin replied.
"Send someone in to take a look."
Huang Yixi pointed to the Shu Family Fortress in front of him.
Soon, a servant, trembling with fear, slowly walked to the gate of Shu Family Fortress and pushed it open with all his might.
The door opened.
Inside is a large, Kong Ji square.
A wooden stake stands in the center of the square.
A person was tied to the wooden stake, and it was none other than Xiang Ling, whom we hadn't seen in a long time! Xiang Ling's head was drooping, and she was motionless, as if she had fainted.
There was no one around her; it was empty and very quiet.
"Xiang Ling?" Huang Yixi's expression changed slightly.
"Where Zhang Spirit Envoy of the Golden Wing Tower? You don't think you can threaten me like this, do you?" he shouted.
No one answered.
The entire Shu Family Fortress was deathly silent.
"Let's go up and take a look!" Huang Yixi her hand.
Immediately, two people cautiously approached Xiang Ling.
There was no sound, no one was there.
The two quickly and successfully freed Xiang Ling from the wooden stake.
Everything was completely different from what Huang Yixi imagined, and it went so smoothly that it felt unbelievable to him.
He waved again.
"Send more people to patrol the area, and be extremely careful of any ambush traps!"
"Yes!"
Huang Lanxin quickly gave the order, and the Huang Family's servants stepped forward to begin a thorough inspection of Shu Family Fortress.
After checking for a long time, they found nothing.
"Master! The person tied to the stake has woken up!"
A servant rushed over to report.
"Let me take a look." Huang Yixi dismounted and quickly walked to Xiang Ling's side.
"Xiang Ling! What are you doing here all alone!?"
"Ahhh~~"
Xiang Ling opened her mouth, but her tongue had already been cut off.
She couldn't utter any coherent words; she was just struggling frantically with her body.
"What are you saying? What are you trying to say?! Where's your tongue?!" Huang Yixi's expression changed, and she vaguely sensed something was wrong.
"Yi Xi! Where is everyone?" Suddenly, several figures rapidly approached from not far away.
More than a dozen masked experts with extremely fast movements, led by Qing Jiao at the front, quickly arrived in front of them.
"Where are the people from Golden Wing Tower?" Qing Jiao frowned as he looked at Xiang Ling on the ground. Seeing that her mouth was full of blood, her tongue was gone, and she could no longer speak, his eyes flickered slightly.
"I don't know! When I arrived, she was the only one tied to the stake. Everyone else from the Golden Wing Tower was gone!" Huang Yixi said in a deep voice.
"Could it be that this new Zhang Spirit Envoy has forgotten the time?" Qing Jiao laughed.
"Could it be that he's trying to lure us away from our base?" Huang Yixi said coldly. "If that's the case, then he's miscalculated. My Huang Lineage's territory is full of experts, and with my father in charge, it's easy to defend and difficult to attack."
As for experts, he's just one person. Even if it's Ninth Grade, if they dare to go, they'll make sure they don't return!
"So, what exactly is this person planning?" Qing Jiao asked, his phoenix eyes narrowing as he pondered.
Just then, a red firework suddenly rose into the sky above Wushan City.
The fireworks exploded suddenly, forming a huge yellow character.
This is a signal that the Huang Lineage's territory has been attacked! Huang Yixi turned around sharply, staring intently at the fireworks.
"He actually dared to do that?!"
He suddenly raised his hand.
"Withdraw!!"
There was no time to think further. Since the Golden Wing Tower dared to take action against the Huang Family, it was very likely that they had mobilized a large amount of forces.
He had to get back to provide support as soon as possible to reduce casualties! The Huang Family's team quickly turned around, greeted Qing Jiao, and returned with Xiang Ling.
The caravan soon disappeared into the night.
Qing Jiao glanced at Shu Family Fortress.
"Let's go take a look too. Let's see what tricks this Zhang Spirit Envoy is up to. He's unpredictable and anything he might do. So let's try to stick together and not be alone."
"I'm sorry you're alone now."
Suddenly a voice came from behind the group.
Qing Jiao suddenly turned around.
Suddenly, his pupils rolled back, as if he had been jolted by something.
"What is that??"
Whoosh! Suddenly, a Silver Disc vibrated and spun rapidly, shooting out from the dark shadows on the right.
The disc sliced through the air with a sharp whistle and flew toward the Qing Jiao in an instant.
When!!
A tremendous clanging sound erupted as the barrier was blocked. Qing Jiao stepped back slightly.
Unexpectedly, a figure darted out from behind the disc like a ghost.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the disc, but no one saw the figure rushing out afterward.
Under the moonlight, the eagle's Eagle Claw, as Jingying, reached straight for Qing Jiao's heart.
"Treading Waves!" In a conditioned reflex, Qing Jiao's hair stood on end, and his right palm shot out like lightning. The Breaking Limit Skill instantly increased the palm power by several times and struck forward fiercely.
He sensed something was wrong the moment his palm struck the Eagle Claw.
Too little force!
He turned around quickly.
Silently, the figure had already used the momentum to flash past Qing Jiao's side.
As the sword flashed, two members of the group lost their arms, blood splattering as they screamed in agony.
In another flash, another person's palm strike went astray and landed on their companion.
"Scatter!!" Qing Jiao was both shocked and furious. This kind of bizarre movement technique was even more exaggerated than that of the previous Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy!?
This is not the Golden Roc Secret Record at all!
With such agility, unless there is a large-scale fire attack, numbers are actually a shield for him!
"Stop!!"
Qing Jiao roared and charged forward, only to be blocked by the corpse of one of his own men.
He pushed the corpse aside and struck the figure with a powerful palm strike, only to find that the other person had hidden behind another person again.
Left with no other choice, Qing Jiao had to forcibly withdraw his palm strike, his face flushed red, his blood and qi surged, and his arm suffered a minor injury.
"I said stop! Let's negotiate!" Qing Jiao roared again, filled with shock and anger.
Pfft!
Zhang Rongfang pulled his short sword from the back of the last man's neck, blood dripping down the blade.
"What did you just say?" He smiled and turned his head to look at Qing Jiao.
Under the moonlight, of the dozen or so people who came to Sea Dragon, only Qing Jiao remained standing alone.
Looking at the black mask with Silver Thread, a chill ran through Qing Jiao's body, accompanied by a rapid heartbeat.