Preparing for battle

"Jianzhou is indeed wealthy. I didn't expect that such a small prefecture would have such bustling brothels."

On the bustling street, Miao Youfang sat on horseback, looking to the left.

To his left was a three-story brothel, where on the second floor sat a group of beautifully dressed women.

They smiled radiantly, and in the dead of winter, some wore low-cut dresses, others draped in gauze, swaying their hips and waving handkerchiefs to attract passersby.

"Grandpa, grandpa, come and play!"

"Young master, I'm waiting for you inside. Please come quickly."

"Young master, please give me a chance to serve you."

Amidst the cacophony of voices, Xu Qi'an sighed. The fact that these girls were dressed like this in the dead of winter to solicit customers showed just how dismal their business was.

Li Lingsu said with pity:

"They are all pitiful people. The world is so difficult. People who used to be able to come to brothels to drink and have fun have reduced their frequency or stopped coming altogether."

"If the brothel can't make money, it will naturally exploit the girls inside. In this freezing weather, they'll catch a cold, and then they'll have to spend money on medical treatment, especially if they don't have money."

Li Lingsu shook her head. As a sentimental person, she couldn't bear to see a girl suffer.

Miao Youfang said with deep concern:

Do you think the brothel might have to close down and go out of business?

"Yes!" Li Lingsu replied affirmatively, sighing.

"At that time, most of these girls will be sold off to become slaves, servants, or even cattle and horses."

Miao Youfang cursed and said:

"This damn world is so bad, even prostitutes can't survive. Sigh, I don't have much money left either. If I hadn't lost my dragon aura, I would have started a rebellion by now."

"I had no money to save fallen women, so I had to rebel," Xu Qi'an thought to himself. "That's very much the style of a certain type of novel."

Li Lingsu said with a smile:

"What kind of uprising? What kind of uprising? Look at someone and say that, don't talk to me."

The group found an inn to stay at, fed the horses, and had a meal. Miao Youfang then awkwardly borrowed ten taels of silver from Xu Qi'an in private.

Then they eagerly went to rescue the struggling young women.

Li Lingsu returned to his room to meditate and practice breathing exercises. He had very high standards for his lovers; he didn't even look at ordinary pretty women, let alone courtesans, unless they were famous courtesans.

However, given Li Lingsu's unparalleled handsome appearance, it's hard to say who would be at a greater disadvantage if he went to a brothel to sleep with women.

Xu Qi'an thought this way because when he was in the capital, he overheard that the women of the Imperial Academy of Music a type of entertainment institution) considered it an honor to sleep with Xu Yinluo, Xu Erlang, and Second Uncle Xu.

I've slept with all three men in the Xu Household!

It makes you feel really proud to say it out loud.

Well, my second uncle is just an extra.

There was another reason why Xu Qi'an lent money to Miao Youfang.

He silently opened Miao Youfang's room, closed the door, and in the quiet environment, crawled under the bed.

The side effects of the Seven Deadly Gu were quite troublesome. He had to squeeze out time every day to satisfy the Gu worm's "desires," insist on ingesting highly poisonous substances every day, and spend some time under the bed every day.

Interact with Shirohime and the mare every day.

They eat regularly every day and have a huge appetite.

Every year, frozen bones are found by the roadside, and then they are manipulated by corpse-eating insects to make the corpses dig graves and bury themselves.

The only thing he's suppressing is the love potion; he's waiting for his dao companion aunt to come and cultivate with him.

More than half a month has passed; the Imperial Advisor should have calmed down by now. Xu Qi'an prayed that his aunt was a magnanimous person; practice makes perfect.

Don't take it so seriously.

In this quiet atmosphere, he drifted into a half-asleep, half-awake state, feeling peaceful and joyful. He was reluctant to leave, feeling that the outside world was a sea of suffering, while under his bed was a paradise.

Just then, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that there was a pair of white shoes by the bed.

"Who?"

Xu Qi'an instinctively tensed up, his body instantly disappearing into the shadows without any prior warning—this was an improvement after the Dark Gu was upgraded.

The next moment, he emerged from the shadows by the table, and upon closer inspection, it was Sun Xuanji.

"Call"

He breathed a sigh of relief, but complained, "Senior Brother Sun, why didn't you give us a heads-up?"

He could actually guess it was Sun Xuanji, but the psychological shadow left by Xu Pingfeng was too heavy, and also because of the supervisor, he subconsciously had a strong wariness of the white-robed Warlock.

Normally I'm in a good state, but when I'm at my calmest and most relaxed, this sudden shock brings out my truest inner self.

Sun Xuanji glanced around, then walked straight to the desk to pour water and grind the powder.

He didn't even try to speak? Xu Qi'an's expression turned serious, and he jumped up and followed.

After grinding the ink, Sun Xuanji picked up her brush and wrote:

"The Martial Alliance possesses two dragon energies, one of the nine dragons, which reside within Cao Qingyang's children."

The dragon aura of Jianzhou is indeed in the Martial Alliance! Xu Qi'an was not surprised by this, as he had suspected it before. Now, he was only surprised to find that his suspicions had been confirmed.

"The spies from Tianji Palace have already passed on the intelligence."

The Heavenly Mystery Palace's spies are truly widespread throughout the Central Plains. The Nightwatchers's spies must be even stronger, but I wonder to whom Duke Wei passed them on. Furthermore, the intelligence network of the Sun Bureau of Astronomy is incredibly powerful. Xu Qi'an nodded slightly.

"Understood. We'll go to the Martial Alliance now to extract the dragon energy, before the people from the Heavenly Mystery Palace."

Sun Xuanji did not respond and continued writing:

What happens after you've extracted the dragon's energy?

"The Buddhist School and the Heavenly Mystery Palace have already formed an alliance. They will come to the Martial Alliance sooner or later. Now that the old alliance leader is in bad condition, the Martial Alliance cannot fight against the Heavenly Mystery Palace and the Buddhist School. There may even be the Witch God Cult."

"Upon learning that the dragon's energy had been taken, they couldn't be sure they wouldn't take the opportunity to destroy the Martial Alliance in revenge."

"Master Jianzheng, you have been asked to bring me the Zhenguo Sword."

"Hmm?" Xu Qi'an stared intently at Sun Xuanji, tentatively asking:

"So the Martial Arts Alliance really is just a pawn of the Supervisor?"

To this question, Sun Xuanji replied, "I don't know."

Xu Qi'an put aside his contempt and began to think hard. In his mind, the supervisor was the mastermind behind everything, and he was behind many things, but he was very secretive.

Sometimes, one might not even realize that the supervisor is instigating things, requiring constant review and a degree of speculation.

This is both the terrifying aspect and the limitation of the Fated Master.

Supervisors rarely made such direct gifts.

What does this tell us?

The current turmoil involving the martial arts alliance is potentially extremely dangerous, and he has no trump cards to deal with it, so the supervisor had no choice but to personally provide him with a bargaining chip.

"Wait a moment, let me verify."

Xu Qi'an took out the fragment of the Earth Book and the talisman given to him by the Imperial Preceptor, and immersed his mind into them to send a message over a thousand miles.

"Imperial Preceptor, this is Xu Qi'an. There is an urgent matter."

The attempt to transmit the message was like throwing a stone into the sea; there was no response.

It's your little darling Xu Qi'an! Say something! The Imperial Preceptor is probably in seclusion. She will undergo her tribulation in three to six months, and this is the final sprint before she can do so.

Xu Qi'an carefully put away the talisman and mentally reviewed his helper.

"Dean Zhao Shou is someone we can ask for help; we can use the Earth Book to have Huaiqing help pass on the message."

"The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox has just established a relationship with them, yet she directly asks them to be her henchmen. Putting aside whether it's feasible or not, the fox spirit hasn't returned from overseas yet, so she obviously can't be of any help;

"The two Yang Gods of the Heavenly Sect are elusive; their appearance last time was an unexpected stroke of luck and cannot be replicated. Besides, it's more likely they'll draw their swords and attack me."

After summarizing, he discovered that his teammates were Sun Xuanji and Zhao Shou.

"It's hard to say what state that old scoundrel of the Martial Alliance is in. The Nine-Colored Lotus Root is ripe, but he can't possibly get his hands on it. He'll level up at lightning speed, and he might not even be able to help."

"Zhao Shou hasn't left Clear Cloud Mountain for decades. He made an exception for me last time because it was a matter of life and death. But this time is different, so it's hard to say whether he'll be willing to come."

"The worst-case scenario is that I only have Sun Xuanji as a teammate. And who are the opponents?"

"Two Vajras, the Seven Constellations of the Azure Dragon, and Nalan Tianlu. No wonder the Supervisor wanted Sun Xuanji to bring the National Protection Sword. But even so, it still doesn't feel quite safe."

Xu Qi'an pulled himself out of his thoughts and asked:

"Both dragon energies are in the Martial Alliance? Why is that?"

Sun Xuanji wrote, "The dragon's aura favors the martial arts alliance; rebellion has a promising future."

Xu Qi'an immediately narrowed his eyes:

"A rebellion has potential, and it also saves the Martial Alliance. The Supervisor and that old scoundrel must have some kind of agreement. Hmm, in that case, Xu Pingfeng certainly won't sit idly by. He'll eliminate all the potential threats before the rebellion begins."

Sun Xuanji wrote, "You are very clever. That's what I thought when I got the Zhenguo Sword."

"Damn it, my white-robed Warlock's post-traumatic stress disorder is acting up again. My father's love is as heavy as a mountain, and my inner trauma is about to flare up again, "Xu Qi'an cursed inwardly.

"But it's very interesting!"

He added that a chessboard seemed to appear before his eyes, and Xu Pingfeng was on the other side of the chessboard.

Previously, Xu Qi'an was a chess piece, at the mercy of the player on the chessboard. Now he is still a chess piece, but unlike before, this piece can now break free from the player's control and choose its own move.

Though physically on the chessboard, one can still play against other players.

"Let's play another round with him. Hmm, we can't underestimate Xu Pingfeng. I need to think about it and write a few words."

Quanrong Mountain.

Following the sect's group, the charming Rongrong rode a fast horse to the huge archway at the foot of the mountain.

Upon arriving at the headquarters of the Martial Arts Alliance, the atmosphere among the group of beautiful women eased considerably, and the seriousness subsided.

Rongrong glanced at the landlord in front of her and whispered to her master beside her:

"Master, what is the reason for this Red Flag Order?"

The Martial Alliance's recruitment of affiliated gangs is divided into three levels, from lowest to highest: Green Wood Order, Black Water Order, and Red Flag Order.

A Qingmu Order is usually an order for various gangs to issue arrest warrants for a certain fugitive or notorious thief.

The Blackwater Token involves conflicts between gangs, and its nature is quite significant.

The Red Flag Order is rarely used because it is only used when the leader of the alliance summons all the major gangs to fight together against an enemy.

In layman's terms, the Red Flag Order is like a commander's seal, used to summon troops.

The last time the Red Flag Order was used was when we were fighting over lotus seeds.

The beautiful woman shook her head, her tone grave:

In short, something big has happened.

She cracked her whip, catching up with Xiao Yuenu ahead, and whispered:

"My lord, in recent days, disaster victims have been pouring into Jianzhou, and the government is already overwhelmed. Those who have not received relief have turned into bandits and outlaws, affecting all parts of Jianzhou."

"You said the alliance leader summoned us, is it to discuss how to deal with the disaster victims?"

No other martial arts faction would have such self-awareness.

However, the Jianghu gangs in Jianzhou have retained the tradition of maintaining order.

"This is not a matter for the disaster victims."

Xiao Yuenu shook her head slightly. Half of her face was covered by a silk scarf, revealing her beautiful features with her straight nose and cheeks.

Her eyes were bright and sparkling, like autumn water, and her fair skin rivaled that of a white silk scarf.

"When we passed through the military town just now, we noticed that the guard force outside the town had increased by 30%, and there were also more scouts dispatched."

Xiao Yuenu's voice possessed the magnetic quality of a mature woman, gentle yet pleasant to the ear. "The disaster victims wouldn't have prompted headquarters to react this way; there must be external enemies lurking around."

The beautiful woman felt a chill run down her spine.

She found it hard to believe. The Martial Alliance had stood in Jianzhou for hundreds of years, and for many, many years no one had dared to challenge this behemoth.

Looking across the Central Plains, the only thing that can threaten the Martial Alliance is the imperial court.

Could it be that the new emperor wants to establish his authority by targeting the Martial Arts Alliance? But why? The Martial Arts Alliance and the young emperor have always kept to themselves, so he can't establish his authority over the Martial Arts Alliance.

She glanced at Xiao Yuenu, whose clear, beautiful eyes showed no sign of panic, which reassured the beautiful woman.

She watched her own child grow up; the child was intelligent from a young age and possessed great spirit and independent thinking.

While girls her age were playing with dolls and eating candied hawthorns, she was already contemplating her future and the future of her sect, displaying extraordinary intelligence and maturity.

Her beauty often overshadows her intelligence.

The beautiful woman felt that it was not entirely the men's fault for being superficial; the poster always covered her face with a silk scarf because she was too beautiful and had to conceal it.

I remember when she was eleven years old, she had already grown into a graceful young woman with a well-developed figure, possessing both the innocence of a young girl and the charm of a mature woman.

The then-vice leader of the martial arts alliance took a liking to her at first sight and went to great lengths to take Xiao Yuenu as his concubine.

At that time, the vice leader was over fifty years old. He could have any woman he wanted, but he still couldn't resist Xiao Yuenu's beauty.

Ultimately, thanks to the intervention of the former leader of the alliance, Wan Hua Lou saved her life.

"Have the young female disciples in your sect prepare themselves. If the Martial Alliance truly encounters a formidable enemy, send them back to the sect."

Xiao Yuenu said softly.

"Yes!"

The beautiful woman knew that she was preserving the sect's lineage. The young disciples had limited combat strength, and if the enemy was too powerful, it was better to preserve the flame than to leave them behind as cannon fodder.

Soon, the women of Wanhualou climbed Quanrong Mountain and followed the steps to the square outside the city lord's mansion.

More than a thousand people have already gathered here.

PS: I'll continue to the next chapter tomorrow.