Nanshang is very close to the snow-capped mountains. Wang Yaping didn't know this, but Xia Xiao knew it very well. It only took him ten minutes to stand at the foot of the snow-capped mountains and walk towards a small village in Nanshang.
The remote village was sparsely populated. It was snowing. Three old men were carrying a few big white radishes as thick as their arms from the fields and were going home to stew the bones. If they didn't take out some of the stock in such weather, how could they persuade the little ancestors at home not to run around? If they fell into a pit buried by the snow, it would be a disaster.
When the young people go out, the little kids they leave behind are their treasures. If they come home and find their babies are hurt, won’t they blame the old guys? However, the old guys are different from the little ones. The latter don’t know the way, but they are very familiar with the roads around the village and will never fall. But in front of them, why did a strange thing appear?
Under the heavy snow, a tall figure made the three slightly hunched old men a little at a loss. But the person who came was Xia Xiao. He always behaved like a good boy in front of his elders. At this time, he took the initiative to greet him with a smile, very polite. When he heard that he wanted to ask something, the old man in the lead was not afraid, and pulled him home, nagging all the way:
"The weather is bad, let's talk about it inside if we have anything to say."
The room became much warmer. Under the strange looks of the old woman and the kid, the old man said:
"The guest has something to ask, please pour a cup of tea first."
The kid stopped making noises immediately when he saw the stranger, and just played with his wooden car. The old woman took a kettle from the stove and poured tea for Xia Xiao. He sat on the kang and felt that this family was really friendly. When he saw the old lady handing him clothes, his heart was warmed.
"It's winter now, aren't you cold wearing so little?"
"This is my dress. It may be a little small for you. Just make do with it. Don't catch a cold."
"It's okay. I'm a practitioner. I just came to ask questions."
Practitioners are indeed not afraid of the cold, and the old man nodded quickly, showing some respect. The old woman was afraid that Xia Xiao would despise her, so she quickly took it away and remained silent, not daring to speak nonsense.
After drinking a sip of tea, Xia Xiao asked:
"Master, to be honest with you, I am from the Earth King Palace. You should have heard of me, right?"
"I know that the big forces in the snowy mountains will send daily necessities from a long way every once in a while. Even if my eyesight is not good, I can still see such a big flag clearly."
Seeing that he was over 70 years old but still so energetic, Xia Xiao couldn't help but laugh from the bottom of his heart.
"Yes, yes. We are closed all year round. I am here to gather information."
"Let me guess, what you want to ask is about the war between Nanshang and Daxia, right?"
Xia Xiao nodded, making the old man smile. Nanshang people have always been tough and straightforward, not like Daxia who was cautious in nature and kept everything to himself. Since Xia Xiao asked and stated his purpose, the old man said without reservation that this kind of thing was well known anyway.
"Not to mention you, even we southern merchants were puzzled at the time. Why did they suddenly withdraw when they were fighting a good battle? But this time, the incident happened suddenly, and His Majesty didn't ask about it, and the whole army began to retreat. Young man, you don't know how chaotic the scene was at that time. A million troops returned in disgrace, with low morale, as if they had lost the battle. It took them three full days to complete the chaotic and disorganized march. We were all curious at the time, and the whole country was in an uproar. We only found out what happened later."
Xia Xiao's curiosity was successfully aroused. What made the Southern Merchant Army withdraw from Daxia in three days? He didn't believe that the Daxia Dynasty had such ability, but the old man's story was a bit fantastic, but Xia Xiao listened very seriously.
"I heard that we attacked as usual that day. Because Xiyang was captured and used as our stronghold, the army's combat effectiveness was surprisingly high. Coupled with the deployment of the latest tactics, we were confident that we could completely defeat the Longhu Fortress within three months. This was a public tactical announcement. But unexpectedly, after several battles, although we were the advantaged side, we encountered a tough opponent that we could not solve no matter what we did. We even angered him and lost a lot of soldiers."
"The last time I went to the city, I heard that the tough guy who caused us to retreat was a young girl, no more than 20 years old, very beautiful, but with a scarlet glow all over her body. The soldiers called her the Blood Girl. I don't know what realm the Blood Girl is in. Some say it's in the sky, and some say it's in the Tao. I'm not a cultivator, so I don't understand that. When I asked, they said that the Tao is the highest realm of cultivators. Boy, you are a cultivator, is that true?"
Xia Xiao nodded, and the old man's face immediately changed, feeling terrified.
"I always thought that such a strong cultivator must be older than me, but I didn't expect him to be so young. He is really amazing. If he is so strong now, he will be able to reach the sky in the future. Young man, I am a rough man, please don't mind. I suddenly want to ask you, do you know who that little girl is? Why did she suddenly go to help Da Xia?"
“I have never heard of such a strong man.”
Xia Xiao shook his head, his expression somewhat regretful, but he had obviously lied. From the moment he heard the scarlet light, Xia Xiao knew what was going on, but he was a little surprised. Why did she come to the battlefield? Did the master agree? In Xia Xiao's mind, she was naturally a good person!
A little girl who has strength that exceeds that of Cangtian, is comparable to Wendao, and can control scarlet power. These characteristics are very close to Shangshan, and Xia Xiao guessed it was not difficult. But this is a war between two countries, and Shangshan should not participate. It is not surprising that she has her own ideas, but she is in the Zou Shou Church, so she should be dissuaded by her master.
Without seeing the master, Xia Xiao had no idea what he was thinking, but he could imagine the scene when Shangshan forced the Nan Shang army to retreat. She must have stood in the air, looking at the Nan Shang army with disdain, and scolding them to retreat. The Nan Shang people were not lacking in iron blood, and they would definitely not agree, but even if the strongest cultivator among them appeared, they would be defeated by Shangshan's destructive and annihilating power.
Shangshan's way of proving her strength is very simple, that is, killing people. She may not kill too many people because of her master's teachings, but she will crush some strong people from the Southern Merchants to let them see the gap between them. She repeats her simple method to let the Southern Merchants see how powerful she is, and then she rushes out with a wave of energy and shouts, scaring them to death.
A person of that strength could easily wipe out an entire army on the battlefield, so Nan Shang was so afraid and gave up the idea immediately. Few people knew who she was, but they didn't know why she helped Da Xia. But one thing was certain, except for Nan Shang, Gou Longbang would not dare to offend Da Xia anymore, because the latter was being protected by a cultivator who could truly be called a strong man.
Strangely enough, since Shangshan is at the front line, he should be able to sense his presence. Even if he hides, if Ah Zhu is not here, she should be able to sense his arrival, after all, they are very familiar with each other. But Shangshan has not come yet, proving that she has left the western part of Daxia. If she is here, even if those guys from Yun Country come, they will have to roll back to their hometown with their tails between their legs.
Xia Xiao scratched his head, not knowing what she was up to, but overall he still had to thank her. In any case, stopping the war was a good thing. Thinking that it was another huge favor, Xia Xiao couldn't be happy, and even felt a little uncomfortable. How could he repay it? He couldn't just give himself to her, right?
"Alas, what a pity that the grand ambitions of our Southern Business Empire cannot be fulfilled. The people of Daxia are happy, but I wonder what they are doing now."
Xia Xiao was also curious about what the people of Daxia were doing now. Although he had passed by Xiyang before, he was still some distance away from the Dragon and Tiger Fortress and wondered if there were any troops inside. Moreover, now that the Southern Merchants had withdrawn, shouldn't Daxia take back the territory and build fortifications to prepare for the future? Thinking of this, Xia Xiao asked:
"Has Nan Shang declared a true ceasefire?"
"This kind of thing should be confidential, I don't know. But since that strong man is here, we will definitely not act rashly. At least we have to investigate the matter thoroughly. But our Nan Shang is rich and powerful. No matter how much benefits Da Xia gives her, we will pay twice as much. Anyway, sooner or later we will dominate the Great Wilderness. Speaking of Da Xia, they are also quite powerful. They were not strong to begin with, but they have managed to hold on until now."
"Is that the reason for their unity?"
The old man was so excited about the conversation that he immediately shook his head and waved his hands, making Xia Xiao look like an idiot.
"Look, this is the disadvantage of not going out for a long time. The reason why Daxia can persist until now is not because of unity or good command, but because of a young man named Xia Xiao."
"Since he is just a young man, how can he be so powerful?"
If the old man knew that the person in front of him was Xia Xiao, he would definitely not dare to say the following words. But he didn't know that, as the saying goes, ignorance is fearless. He immediately expressed his dissatisfaction with Xia Xiao and cursed:
"You don't know this. That bastard was a follower of the Pope of the Zou Shou Church, or a student of the academy. I don't know what kind of evil magic he used on the battlefield, but he killed 200,000 people of our Southern Merchants Corps. But he deserved it. He was then possessed by a demon and wanted by the whole world. Some time ago, it was said that he was taken away by the Yun Kingdom and his life or death is unknown. I think it's better for him to die. Students should study hard in the academy instead of getting involved in so many things. Now he has to suffer the consequences."
Xia Xiao laughed dryly, and his good impression of the old man dropped to zero in an instant. But they were all enemies, and he couldn't expect the old man to pray for him, so that he would never die and live a hundred years.
After chatting for a while, Xia Xiao was ready to leave. He had already got the answer he wanted. He didn't expect that an old man knew so much.
The old man and his wife invited Xia Xiao to dinner. The cured pork leg and radish they had stewed in the afternoon were very fragrant. They were already a little tasty. When they brought a pot of peanuts they had grown themselves and two glasses of wine, it was simply delicious. But Xia Xiao went out and disappeared in the wind and snow in the blink of an eye, leaving them no room to react. They swallowed the words that were on their lips again.
Seeing Xia Xiao disappear without a trace in a gust of wind, the old man couldn't help but exclaimed:
"It's good to be a young practitioner. You have a bright future ahead of you."