Li Jingxi's eyes bulged. "A mere fortified village dares talk of independence?"
Hou Niao said nothing, but the meticulous Feng Yaochen beside him sighed. "The Quanzhen Sect isn't the only cultivation power in this world!"
What had originally been a purely tactical conspiracy had abruptly been raised to a new level by Hou Niao. He felt rather embarrassed, too, for making his senior brothers nervous.
"Just speculation, speculation... I'm a newcomer who only just arrived. I haven't even figured out the situation... I could very well be spouting nonsense, so don't take it too seriously."
Xiang Zhiwen sighed. He finally understood how the Pastoral Marshal at Heavenly Fragrance Tower had felt back then. It truly was a jumble of all five flavors, a hundred feelings mingled together.
The crux of the matter was that, however unlikely he thought this possibility, he still had to act to guard against it. That was the point of his being stationed here.
If he lost the territory after guarding it for years, what meaning would there be in all the countless demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends he had killed before?
Yao He gazed westward, toward the border between Yinling and the Wei Kingdom. "Wei Kingdom Taihao? They want to stick their claws in here too?"
Xiang Zhiwen stopped him. "Hold on! We can't make reckless claims without evidence!"
He looked at Hou Niao. "We'll investigate the Beeswax Horned Beast, but someone also needs to investigate the internal problems at Fang Family Fort discreetly. Junior Brother Hou, you're new, and few people here know you. Would you be willing to stay here and act as our eyes? I've noticed you have quite a knack for intrigue."
Hou Niao refused outright. "Senior Brother, that won't do! I'm unfamiliar with the people and the place, and members