Encountering the Cold Maple Again
Cang Jingqi explained, "The imperial court has already issued an order to use the Demon Realm's route to reach Anzhou. I think there's something wrong with this request. If the Vermilion Bird Pavilion knows that Cang Jingye is related to the human-demon transformation, why would they still need to use the Demon Realm's route? Aren't they afraid there might be rebels in the Demon Realm?"
They could have gone north through Mi Prefecture, but An Prefecture in the human realm was in turmoil, and the demon race had to be dragged into it.
"I also received information that the imperial court believes it is an indisputable fact that there are demons among the rebels, and the Demon Palace has consistently refused to send troops to capture them. Therefore, when the imperial army is dispatched to Anzhou this time, they will inevitably come to question the Demon Palace," Han Tian said.
Han Jiang understood. Cang Jingqi was going to Anzhou to cooperate with the court's request for passage, and Cang Jingye was not in the Demon Palace at this time. Cang Jingmo was also dead. The Demon Palace was unguarded. If the traitor within the Demon Palace leaked information, the other side could easily lead a group of people to attack the Demon Palace.
In the past, the three princes of the demon race were not worried about this matter when they went out at the same time, because the barrier of the demon realm existed.
To minimize the impact on the spiritual energy of the marching troops, the barrier will be temporarily closed when passing through.
This matter is by no means simple.
That night at midnight, Cang Jingqi knocked on Han Jiang's door and said that Amai had captured someone.
Han Tian had just arrived at the Demon Palace, and before the news could spread, the traitor was already rushing to report it.
The letter was stopped by Cang Jingmo: "The cold weather has arrived; the Demon Palace will be temporarily suspended."
He turned to capture the traitor who had delivered the message, but the man stirred up the demonic energy within him, committed suicide, and reverted to his original appearance. He was not a member of the Demon Palace.
“The servants next to the study are on duty not far from the study, no wonder any news leaks out so quickly,” Cang Jingmo said.
Cang Jingqi carefully examined the man's corpse and said, "He was a human, but he had demonic energy in his body. It can only be sensed after the demonic energy dissipates after death. A good method."
It's not a simple transformation from human to demon, but rather the combination of a demon's demonic energy with that of another person, merging them into one.
The rebels' application of human-demon transformation far exceeded everyone's imagination.
Han Jiang and Cang Jingqi went to check the travelogue that Cang Jingmo had mentioned. Even that woman had only mentioned the union of humans and demons in a very brief way, without providing any examples.
However, her adopted daughter mentioned the union of human and demon, the merging of their minds.
The existing clues are insufficient to determine when this person infiltrated the Demon Palace; according to Cang Jingmo's investigation, it was no more than three months ago.
"Could it be when we were in the desert?" Han Jiang guessed.
“Very likely,” Cang Jingqi said. “We should not delay. We should set off for Anzhou immediately, investigate the situation there, and then meet up with the Vermilion Bird Pavilion. Since the letter has not been sent out, those people are very likely to come to the Demon Palace. Hantian, it’s up to you.”
"Don't worry, Aqi."
The three of them packed their luggage and sat on Cang Jingqi's folding fan.
Han Jiang took the sword that Cang Jingqi had given her earlier, which she hadn't had a chance to return yet. However, Cang Jingqi hadn't wanted it, so Han Jiang decided to keep it with her for self-defense.
"Ah Qi?" Han Jiang sat down next to Cang Jing Qi.
"Um?"
"Can I call you Aqi?"
"That's what your master called you."
Han Jiang pouted: "My master can call me that, but I can't? Xiao Man is also called that by my master!"
"good."
Cang Jingmo sat at the other end of the folding fan, far away from the two people.
Han Jiang observed out of the corner of her eye: Was this Amai an important character? The Anzhou Rebellion should be a major plot point, driven and resolved by the original male and female protagonists. Han Tian was in the Demon Palace, but Han Qi's whereabouts were unknown.
Cang Jingmo definitely cannot participate.
In a sense, Han Jiang and Cang Jingqi replaced the original male and female leads, advancing the plot in a different way.
So is this Amai a story-limited NPC? Only involved in this one storyline, and then dying? Han Jiang still found the appearance of this bodyguard inexplicable. She thought only she and Cang Jingqi were going to Anzhou, but this bodyguard naturally stepped onto the folding fan.
I've never heard him address Cang Jingqi with any respectful title like "Your Highness," so is he really just an ordinary bodyguard?
It seems suspicious no matter how you look at it.
Han Jiang hadn't slept for long; the journey from the Demon Realm to Anzhou was very short. She vaguely felt Cang Jingqi lift her off the folding fan, then carry her into an inn and onto a bed.
So when she woke up, she was in a bed in an inn.
The room's style is very similar to that of Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou.
Cang Jingqi was nowhere to be found. She went out for a walk but didn't see anyone, so she sat down on the first floor and asked the waiter about something.
There were only two tables on the first floor. Han Jiang thought that due to the war, there were few guests coming to the inn to eat, so he put them away.
Looking around, I saw that most of the ground floor was covered with blankets, and women and children were huddled together. They were dressed lightly, no one was speaking, everyone had their heads down, and they were all hugging each other.
Wearing a thick cloak, he looked out of place in the middle of the scene as the cold descended.
She called to the waiter and asked what was going on.
The waiter said they were all poor people who had nowhere to go during the turmoil, and the inn would provide some simple food.
Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the inn was under the name of Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou.
"Right now, only Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou in the entire Anzhou is safe," the waiter said with a worried expression.
The streets were littered with things people had left behind when they fled; pots and pans were scattered all over the place, and the houses were almost all empty, just empty shells.
Anzhou City was desolate.
"The Vermilion Bird Pavilion will come to save everyone," Han Jiang said.
Xiao Er remained silent, only shaking his head, and stopped talking to Han Jiang.
This reaction is not right. Han Jiang wanted to talk to the shopkeeper, but the shopkeeper was sent by Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou and ignored Han Jiang.
The middle-aged woman was tall, with a short knife at her waist. She seemed to have a lot of energy, and upon closer inspection, one could see that the thing she was using to tie her hair up was a dart-like concealed weapon. Ignoring Han Jiang beside her, she rolled up her sleeves and focused on wiping the counter.
Fortunately, Han Jiang had brought money with him. Unlike the Four Continents Sect and the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou didn't have a strict management system, and individual behavior was more prevalent. So, after spending several dozen taels of silver, the manager finally agreed to speak.
What do you want to know?
"The shopkeeper has been in Anzhou for many years, hasn't he?" Han Jiang first tried to establish social distance.
The woman nodded: "My mother, and my mother's mother, are both from Anzhou."
"What was Anzhou like before the turmoil? Was it much more peaceful than it is now?" Han Jiang couldn't think of a suitable adjective for a moment.
"I wouldn't say that," the woman said. "Anyway, Anzhou wasn't peaceful when I was a child. Back then, there were conflicts between humans and demons, and the imperial court, considering the need for harmony between humans and demons, always favored the demons in sentencing. Later, a new Demon Lord came to power and erected a barrier between Anzhou and the Demon Realm, and Anzhou became more stable. About ten years ago, I even did business in the Demon Realm, and it was thriving. Before the barrier, everyone did business together. Although there were conflicts between humans and demons, they made money together. With that barrier, humans and demons were separated. The demons prospered, but Anzhou lost an ally."
"Then what?"
“Anzhou is either flooded or drought-stricken. Jingzhou is far away from us and inconvenient to manage. To make matters worse, both governors of Anzhou were damn bastards who knew the truth but didn’t report it and only knew how to squeeze money out of us. When someone complained to Jingzhou, the people sent from above were also damn corrupt officials. Without the help of the Demon Realm, Anzhou is dirt poor.”
"After the Demon Realm was separated, things were peaceful at first, but over time, the people couldn't even get enough to eat, so unrest broke out again," Han Jiang concluded.
"You could say that," the woman said, wiping the table again. "It's still the Lord of the Pavilion who saved so many people. So in Anzhou, Maple Fire Reflecting Frost Pavilion is number one. The Imperial Court? Vermilion Bird Pavilion? Hmph, they're all bullshit."
Han Jiang gave the woman the remaining silver in his bag: "Prepare more food for these exiles."
The unrest in Anju was indeed due to favorable timing, as the region had experienced consecutive years of severe drought and crop failure.
The people were driven to desperation, and they organized themselves to kill the governor.
The question is, who organized this? Under extreme conditions, people's hearts are the easiest to be stirred up.
Could it be Gui Xu? Given her standing among the people of Anzhou, it's certainly possible she orchestrated this. But based on previous clues, the rebels in Anzhou have absolutely no connection to Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou.
Gui Xu was completely absolved of any responsibility. According to the woman and the waiter, Gui Xu was the one who provided shelter to the people during the turmoil, while Zhuque Pavilion was the one who ignored the people.
All the inns under the Maple Fire Reflecting Frost Pavilion accept refugees. However, there are no rooms available, so they can only stay in a corner on the first floor.
It's enough for ordinary people; they don't have to suffer in the cold winter outdoors and have a place to temporarily escape the wind and snow.
This is completely different from Yinzhou. The people of Yinzhou almost all support the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, but Yinzhou is wealthy, unlike Anzhou.
Cang Jingqi and Amai returned from outside, and Han Jiang immediately shared his clues.
The three of them gathered in Cang Jingqi's room and sat in a circle.
Han Jiang was next to Cang Jingqi. She gave her cloak to the person downstairs and now could only rely on Cang Jingqi's demonic energy for protection.
Where did you go?
Cang Jingqi said, "The message left by A Ye said that she was in Anzhou City, but A Mai and I have been asking around all morning and we haven't heard anything about her."
“Currently, half of Anzhou City is a ghost town, and the other half is a gathering place for rebels. We can’t enter the gathering place because of the chaotic spiritual energy,” Cang Jingmo said. “Ah Y—the Third Prince is probably there.”
Han Jiang noticed that Amai habitually wanted to say "Ah Ye," but then quickly changed her words.
"Then shall I lead you in? After all, I won't be affected by the spiritual energy disorder." The benefit of dissolving spiritual energy is another advantage.
Cang Jingqi said worriedly, "It's still too dangerous. Let's find another way."
"What other way is there? It's not like I didn't show you the way before." Han Jiang recalled the scene of their first meeting.
If the rebels were a force organized by the people to fight against the imperial court, they would never have driven the people out of their homes like this, leaving them trembling in fear here.
The city is half empty, half of which are occupied by the oppressed and suffering, while the other half hides the instigator.
Without a clear dividing line, the two people behind them began to feel uncomfortable as they walked, and then it became difficult to tell which way to go.
As the cold descends, I lead Cang Jingqi, trying to discern whether it's the road I came from or a road I haven't traveled before.
She could feel that Cang Jingqi was holding her very tightly.
"Are you feeling very uncomfortable?"
"A little."
Han Jiang patted his arm to comfort him: "It won't be long. The spiritual energy disorder is just a barrier. It will disappear once you enter their territory. After all, those people won't feel good in an environment with disordered spiritual energy."
“Someone is approaching…” Despite the disordered spiritual energy, Cang Jingqi was still able to sense spiritual energy.
A familiar figure rushed to Han Jiang and bumped into her arms.
Cang Jingqi casually put his arm around Han Jiang to prevent either of them from falling.
"Han Qi?" Han Jiang recognized the person. Great! The female lead was here! She was overjoyed to meet the female lead here, which meant she hadn't followed the wrong plot!
"Run! They're coming!" Without saying a word, Han Qi grabbed Han Jiang and turned to run.
Seeing this, Cang Jingqi and Cang Jingmo quickly followed and left the area where the spiritual energy was disordered.
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