Chapter 213

Ren Le was completely unaware that Xiahou and Bai Chaoyan were hiding among the townspeople. If Gu Zhongtai hadn't reminded her, she probably wouldn't have guessed either.

Seeing the surprised expression on Fan Xiaoxiao's face, Gu Zhongtai stroked the cup on the table, then took another one and poured himself a cup of honey water.

"You don't really think I took them away, do you? Let's not even talk about whether I could or not, I certainly don't want to take those two annoying guys with me. Besides, the old man Tianzun wouldn't feel comfortable entrusting them to me right now."

The swirling hot smoke obscured his eyes, but Fan Xiaoxiao naturally understood what he meant.

Gu Chongtai was, after all, the master of the Demon Palace, even though Xiahou and the others didn't know his true identity. The Heavenly Venerable, however, was perfectly aware of it. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly entrust two people he valued, who were still recovering from serious injuries, to Gu Chongtai?

only……

"How can the Celestial Venerable be so sure that Renle will let those townspeople go?"

Fan Xiaoxiao couldn't quite understand this problem. Although Tianshan had a decree from the previous emperor, it was only to protect Tianshan from being disturbed by future generations for no reason.

She voiced all her questions, and Gu Chongtai took a sip of tea, then leaned back lazily in the rattan chair.

"Do you know why Prince Ning requested an imperial decree from Tianshan back then?"

Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback and shook her head. These things, which had nothing to do with the original main plot, were only mentioned briefly in the book. How could she know why Prince Ning was asking the Heavenly Venerable for an imperial decree?

The Ghost Doctor, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it any longer. He wrapped the blanket around himself tighter and interjected, "Hai, what else could it be? It's because the Tianshan Mountains are located in a very special location."

"special?"

Fan Xiaoxiao was increasingly confused. How did this conversation get involved with the location of Tianshan? Its special geographical location? What did this have to do with Prince Ning's job search?

Seeing her like this, Gu Zhongtai knew that Fan Xiaoxiao probably didn't know anything about Tianshan.

He straightened up, poured a glass of clean water, dipped his hand in the water, and drew a circle on the wooden table.

"For example, this circle represents the Tianshan Mountains. Do you know what lies to the front of the Tianshan Mountains?"

“Youzhou is ahead! That’s where we came from, of course I know that.”

What lies beneath Youzhou?

Fan Xiaoxiao was stunned. Not far below Youzhou was Chang'an. Back then, they had detoured from Yongzhou through the Han Sea and then crossed the Han Sea to reach Youzhou, precisely to avoid Chang'an, which was located in the middle.

Gu Zhongtai nodded, pointed behind the circle, and asked, "Do you know where this is?"

Behind Tianshan? Fan Xiaoxiao shook her head honestly, then seemed to remember something and quickly ran upstairs to get something.

She spread it out on the table and saw it was the Zhou Dynasty map she had gotten from Ji Yushu when she was in Guqu Town. After finding the location of Tianshan, Fan Xiaoxiao noticed that the back of Tianshan was painted in dark colors, and in the middle of the dark colors were two large characters—Xiongnu.

Behind the Tianshan Mountains lies foreign territory!

Seeing Fan Xiaoxiao's somewhat stunned expression, Gu Zhongtai blew on the tea in his cup.

"The Tianshan Mountains are located at the border between the Zhou Dynasty and the Xiongnu. For hundreds of years, the Tianshan Sect used the terrain of the Tianshan Mountains to block the Xiongnu cavalry from invading. Not only that, the status and reputation of the Tianshan Sect in the martial arts world also boosted Youzhou. Originally, this was a wild land with only grass and trees. It was only after the Tianshan Sect came here that Youzhou came into being."

"No wonder..."

Fan Xiaoxiao finally understood why Renle had to secretly harm the townspeople of Tianshan Town behind the back of the Heavenly Venerable. To put it bluntly, Renle was, after all, a princess of the Zhou Dynasty.

Since Tianshan is so important, the people of the world cannot be allowed to see that the imperial court has chilled the hearts of martial arts sects like Tianshan.

After all, Tianshan was guarding the border for the Zhou Dynasty, and this was something that the Zhou Dynasty would normally send troops to do.

At this point, Gu Chongtai added, "Moreover, when the Zhou Dynasty was established, it had just gone through a period of war and needed to recuperate. Where would they find so many soldiers and generals to guard the Tianshan line? Therefore, the emergence of the Tianshan Sect also solved a major problem for the Zhou Dynasty."

Furthermore, because the Tianshan Sect was a renowned and righteous sect in the martial arts world, the Zhou Dynasty emperor was able to entrust the management of this mountain gate to Tianshan with peace of mind. However…”

As Gu Zhongtai spoke, he let out a cold laugh, a laugh filled with deep sarcasm, as if he had remembered something ridiculous.

"The Tianshan Sect isn't the emperor's property after all. Relying on outsiders for protection is something no one wants, so year after year, the Zhou emperors have been reinforcing the defenses of Youzhou. While it's not urgent to touch Tianshan yet, one day..."

Gu Zhongtai didn't say anything more. He took a sip of sweet tea, and the mocking smile on his lips was quite jarring.

Having said that, Fan Xiaoxiao finally understood. Ultimately, it was because the Zhou Dynasty was currently relying on Tianshan to guard their gates for free, which was why Renle was wary. And because of this wariness, he certainly wouldn't do anything too harsh to the people here.

Since they won't go too far, it's inevitable that the townspeople will be released.

These issues are not difficult to sort out.

But Fan Xiaoxiao immediately realized another problem: "Then why did the Celestial Venerable say that you kidnapped them? This is completely unnecessary. And have you been cured of the poison? Is it really okay for you to leave Tianshan like this?"

Gu Zhongtai's main purpose in coming to Tianshan was to detoxify himself, but he failed to do so and was even accused of kidnapping Tianshan disciples.

Moreover, the Celestial Venerable has also descended the mountain, and all that remains seems rather unbelievable.

Watching Fan Xiaoxiao's incessant chatter, the Ghost Doctor impatiently rubbed his teeth and said, "Tsk, kid. This boy's poison is almost gone. The old man, the Heavenly Venerable, came to us yesterday hoping to use the Demon Lord's name to divert the court's attention. After all, the court knows that this boy is very interested in what the Heavenly Venerable has and what that young lady surnamed Bai has."

"Besides, if those two kids run away, what good will happen to the townspeople under the Heavenly Venerable? You know that princess is a complete madwoman, who knows what she might do. This way, all the hatred will be transferred to this kid, and the Second Heavenly Venerable will definitely profit."

Fan Xiaoxiao frowned slightly upon hearing this. Wasn't this implying that Gu Zhongtai was at a disadvantage? Based on her understanding of Gu Zhongtai, he was not the type to suffer losses!

She looked at the other person with some confusion: "You're not the kind of person who does good deeds, what conditions did the other person agree to?"

Gu Zhongtai raised his eyebrows slightly, a half-smile on his face.

After a long pause, he placed the cup on the table and slowly uttered a few words: "Treasure map."

(End of this chapter)