He took the opportunity to ask Li Wenbi, "Lord Li, in the urgency of the moment, you mentioned that there was more to Blackstone County's fall, even that it involved traitors within... might I ask what happened?
"Wu Gui's two armies and the Yinshi Marquis occupied much of my attention. If there truly was such a matter within our ranks, such treacherous scum, I will kill them to console the thousands upon thousands of departed souls!"
At these words, the atmosphere, which had just relaxed, instantly tightened again.
A complicated look flickered across Li Wenbi's dark face.
Instinctively, he glanced ten li into the distance, at the Qing Household's Treasure Ship hovering silently in midair, and at the figure aboard it whose presence could not be ignored-Qing Tingxue.
She had never made a move, and she seemed very close to the Qiongzhou Merchant Alliance.
His lips moved, but in the end, he merely sighed and transmitted his voice through Divine Sense:
"Azure Abyss Marquis, this matter... has far-reaching implications. The waters behind it run deep, and it may not be as simple as you or I imagine. There are too many eyes and ears here. This is certainly no place to discuss it in detail."
His words were vague, but the meaning behind them only deepened Qing Chen's inward sneer.
The attitude in those words made it perfectly clear whom he held close and whom he kept at a distance.
The two exchanged a few more voice transmissions. Qing Chen also explained that, among the tens of thousands of troops he had brought as reinforcements, quite a few were men he had subdued along the way.
Just then-
Whoosh!
A clear sword cry rang out, drawing closer from afar and breaking the delicate balance at the scene.
Everyone looked up