CHAPTER 1094: CHAPTER 600: THE NOBLE SCION IN THE CARAVAN

The window of a certain pavilion was suddenly pushed open from inside out by a pair of well-maintained, proportionately jointed hands.

"Woooo..."

Cold wind poured into the room, causing the candle flame hidden within the lampshade on the table to flicker, and the shadow cast on the pink wall twisted like a demon.

Xu Jianwen took a deep breath of the frigid wind and softly said, "The canal is still too small, if we were by the East Sea, the winter wind wouldn’t be this cold."

Behind him, around a round table in the room, sat three people in a proper manner.

Among them was Qi Yuchun, the former Commander of the imperial guard.

The Earth God Mage, Ren Kun.

And... the former State Preceptor, Master Gu Huo, dressed in a black and white checkered robe, with a wooden hairpin fixing his hair, and eyes as deep as a pool.

"Your Highness, you mustn’t say that Prince Jing is heading to the Marine Road just to feel the sea breeze in winter," Ren Kun grinned and said.

Since their meeting with Prince Jing that day, they didn’t know what their own prince discussed behind closed doors with him.

In any case, since then, their prince appeared as a "strategist" and in a short time, secured a position within the Jiancheng Rebel Army, now almost taking over all powers of the Hu Ting.

But Prince Jing and his son had secretly left Hu Ting not long ago, Xu Jinglong stationed their troops in the county town behind Hu Ting, clutching the front line’s throat.

Prince Jing, however, intended to head to the Marine Road.

"Nonsense. Prince Jing going at this time is surely for Prince Chen, or for Qingshan, or perhaps both," Qi Yuchun calmly analyzed:

"According to messages from the north, negotiations in the Capital have broken down, and Zhao Douan, even risking being surrounded on all fronts after spring, wants to thwart the talks. He even publicly decreed to annihilate the Jiancheng Army... at this juncture, how could Prince Jing not prepare, not draw allies?"

Master Gu Huo chuckled, "I heard that Prince Chen of the Marine Road is a henpecked husband with no big ambitions, always listening to Princess Chen and has only entrenched in Coastal, wanting to be a carefree Vassal King? Such a person is not easy to persuade, as for Wu Xian Kui of Qingshan... hehe, in my humble opinion, he’s even more of a finicky type, who knows how he cultivated to the level of a Heavenly Human? To fight the Royal Family, he might as well fight straightforwardly, but he insists on maintaining his status as the number one martial arts expert, even at Luo Mountain before, insisted on using the excuse of a martial arts duel... such a person is also hard to invite."

Standing by the window, Xu Jianwen listened to a few faint sounds of firecrackers from somewhere in the quiet Hu Ting, and instead of engaging in the topic, he said:

"Zhao Douan should be arriving soon. I can’t wait to meet him. Ha, unexpectedly, my sister not only has a knack for concealing her abilities but also has a good eye for choosing men."

Zhao Douan...

Upon hearing this name, the other three also focused attentively.

Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun both recalled their past failed attempts to kill Zhao Douan.

As for Master Gu Huo, he coldly laughed and said, "Rest assured, Your Highness. When he arrives, I only need to make a slight move to kill him, and I’ll also consume all his memories. Ha... I’m eager to know how I died upon entering the Capital back then, with his position, he must know the inside story... Damn, I suspect the theft of my treasure trove is also related to this. In this world, no one can take my treasures without consequence!"

Master Gu Huo had great confidence in his ability to consume dreams.

...

...

After yet another heavy snowfall, the fourth year of Tianfeng officially arrived.

This year, the Capital did not hold a grand Grand Banquet Ceremony, everything was kept simple, and the festive atmosphere across the lands was quite dull.

In contrast, the collapse of the negotiations and Zhao Douan’s military orders spread like wildfire across all of Yu Country’s territory and beyond.

For a time, public opinion was in an uproar.

The people were worried about the escalation of the war’s intensity, yet blindly trusted Zhao Douan due to his consecutive great victories.

The human heart is a curious thing.

Back when Zhao Douan was just a gigolo, everyone looked down on him, secretly spat upon him.

Even when he accomplished numerous feats back then, they were suspected by many to be "gold-plated."

Until real battles and victories overturned the public perception.

After the New Year, as Zhao Douan walked through the streets of the Capital, he often heard mentions of his name.

Mostly positive remarks.

Conversely, in the upper circles mainly among the elites, there was much concern about Zhao Douan.

"Ha, here they come again to persuade me to withdraw the military orders, these people really are..."

The third day of the Year, at the entrance of Zhao Mansion.

Zhao Douan sent off yet another wave of visiting officials, shaking his head uncontrollably.

Behind him, You Jinhua and Zhao Pan came over and comforted, "Perhaps they were well-intentioned..."

"Well-intentioned? Not necessarily," Zhao Douan sneered, "Who knows how many are waiting to see me falter quietly."

The bigger the reputation, the more enemies one makes, he had understood this principle since his past lives.

Regarding the military orders, there were roughly three types of public opinions:

First, those who were concerned he couldn’t fulfill them.

Second, those who thought he was just bluffing and never intended to deliver.

Third, those thinking he was inflated, speaking nonsense.

"Forget it, I’ve already seen most of the people I need to, from now on I’ll be secluding myself, won’t see anyone," Zhao Douan turned around and returned to his bedroom.

Zhao Pan couldn’t help asking, "Big brother, when are you departing?"

When to depart? Zhao Douan smiled silently.

Moments later.

A Divine Soul flew towards the inner court of the Imperial Palace, slipping into an old building.

...

...

To go from Jingchuan City to Hu Ting, one needs to head northeast.

After the New Year, Yuan Feng led the Five Army Camp northward.

Meanwhile, Zhao Douan only took Ji Yue, Jin Jian, and Yu Xiu, disguised themselves, and quietly left Jingchuan City without attracting any attention.

The Huangmen Escort Agency is a neutral escort agency located in the Huai River area, usually escorting goods for some large merchants.

Even during war times, people’s lives continue, and caravans still brave the wind and snow, traveling between various regions.

Recently, the Huangmen Escort Agency received a job from a major merchant, tasked with escorting a caravan carrying goods towards the Hu Ting area.

Originally, the Huangmen Escort Agency was reluctant to take a job heading to the front line, but this major merchant’s identity was rather special, secretly working for the Huai’an Prince Mansion, and the Huangmen Escort Agency also belonged to a local power under the Huai’an Prince Mansion.

Huang Xiaorou, rare among the escort agency as a female escort, always went out with her father and brother for escort jobs.

This time, her father and brother didn’t want her to come, but she insisted on following.

However, along the way, the experienced Huang Xiaorou became increasingly uneasy.

This unease stemmed from several aspects.

For one, although the caravan was nominally escorting goods, among the few people from the merchant side, aside from one who appeared to be a businessman, the rest of the three women and one man didn’t quite seem like business people, nor did they have the demeanor befitting wealthy "young masters."

As for the man, he was ordinary in appearance, but every move carried an air of authority, causing Huang Xiaorou to feel tense, frightened, and unable to speak up before him. At times, a mere glance from him would scare her.

This seldom happened before... even when she saw some officials, she wouldn’t feel this way, including the Magistrate, whom she had the fortune to meet once... yes, the pressure she felt from that unremarkable young man was even greater than from the Lord Prefect...

Moreover, the women around that man were even more peculiar, one by one.

Among them, one in red attire always had her face covered with black hair, seemingly unwilling to see people, hiding in the carriage, rarely coming out, Huang Xiaorou had yet to see what she looked like after so many days.

Another young girl, although exceedingly pretty, seemed to have poor vision and was especially fond of sleeping, particularly during the day, she was always asleep.

As for nighttime... a certain night guard duty had her vaguely seeing a shadow fly into the sky, shaped much like the girl, but when looking closely, it vanished; she thought she was seeing things. How could a young girl fly? Only an extremely powerful magician could do that, and in her life, the most potent Divine Chapter Realm magician she had seen could barely perform a clumsy floating spell, not flying at all.

And the last somewhat normal woman, with an ethereal aura, was notable because one time, Huang Xiaorou vaguely saw that beneath her dress was actually a robe...

"Rich young masters play so wildly? Even Daoists aren’t spared?"

When the convoy stopped for another rest, Huang Xiaorou looked at the noble young master stepping out from the carriage, and she couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

Yet the next second, that young master suddenly looked at her and smiled, beckoning, "You, come over here for a moment."

...

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