Jingzhou City
Cang Jingqi was about to make a move when Cang Jingye stopped him with a look. He immediately understood the other's meaning, grabbed Han Jiang's hand, and forced Han Jiang to lower his head.
"What's all the fuss about? Why is it so troublesome when I asked someone to bring a hostage?" Cang Jingye shouted, stopping the guards who were rushing over.
"Your Highness, it would be best not to bring people in casually." The guard spoke to Cang Jingye without any politeness.
Han lowered her head and struggled desperately, trying her best to play the role of a dishonest hostage, as if she were the one who had hit the two people here.
Cang Jingye said, "These are the latest candidates for the human-demon fusion. You've come at the right time to replace these two. As for you, hold onto the hostages and come with me."
Han Jiang thought Cang Jingye would lead them through the third door, but to her surprise, she only led the two of them out through the first door, and they returned to the original house.
After confirming that no one was around, Cang Jingye said, "Cang Jingqi, getting out of here shouldn't be difficult for you, right? Let's go!"
"Aren't you leaving?" Han Jiang asked.
Cang Jingye shook his head: "I still have things to do."
"Really not leaving?" Cang Jing asked sarcastically.
“I’m not leaving.” Cang Jingye said firmly, “Cang Jingqi, you either join me, or you obediently stand with the Vermilion Bird Pavilion and become my enemy.”
Cang Jingye's feeling towards Han Jiang wasn't that they had different stances, but rather that they sought different things.
The fact that the demons were not respectful to Cang Jingye suggests that she is not the leader of any faction here. It's more likely that Cang Jingye has something to hide here, or that she is temporarily cooperating with the leader here because she wants something from him, but their actual positions are opposed.
She let Cang Jingqi and Han Jiang leave, but stayed behind herself. If it weren't for the fact that she didn't get what she wanted, why would she do that?
Cang Jingqi didn't know what Cang Jingye really wanted; he only knew that Cang Jingye hated the Demon Lord and hated Cang Jingqi.
"So she did all this to overthrow the Demon Lord?" This point coincides with the view of the exiled demons.
Cang Jing said, "She hates it, but she won't do it."
On the way back to the inn, we encountered many refugees who had fled. After leaving Anzhou, most of them had fled to Mizhou.
Cang Jing shook the bottle in his hand; the liquid inside was unidentifiable. It was a milky-white substance that could be shaped using spiritual power, but would quickly revert to a clump.
He seemed to have thought of something, and avoided Han Jiang to find Cang Jingmo alone.
"This was found among the rebels, and it has a similar aura to yours. Do you remember what Guixu used to make your new body?"
Cang Jingmo said, "I don't remember. I've never seen that thing before. Now that you mention it, it does look very similar. Are you saying that Maple Fire Reflecting Frost Pavilion is also related to the rebels?"
Currently, only Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou in the entire Anzhou is safe and undisturbed. The outside world believes this is because Gui Xu is powerful; since there's no direct conflict, the rebels won't proactively attack Feng Huo Ying Shuang Lou.
Therefore, it is unreasonable to conclude that Guishu is related to the rebels based solely on the similarity of materials; more evidence is needed.
What's clearer now is the Vermilion Bird Pavilion token and the communication talisman that Han Jiang found.
The person who corresponds to the high-level token is easy to find; the talisman painter who repairs talismans is in Jingzhou. So the four of them packed up and headed to Jingzhou that very night.
Fortunately, Hanqi's injuries were not serious, and he could continue his journey without any problems.
He remained silent the entire way.
The original female lead's personality was never fully understood by Han Jiang. She rarely saw Han Qi show a variety of expressions, which was probably because the author wanted to write a decisive, domineering, and aloof female lead, but couldn't escape the dramatic and eccentric romance between the male and female leads.
Therefore, most of Hanqi's early emotions were reflected in the collapse of her character after meeting Cang Jingmo. She mistakenly believed that the demons had killed her family, and she made things difficult for the demon Cang Jingmo she encountered.
When encountering the female lead, Cang Jingmo, whose character also collapses, will suddenly become less intelligent at certain times.
However, because Han Qi learned the truth about what happened back then in advance, her conflict with Cang Jingmo disappeared directly. Without the conflict, Cang Jingmo returned to normal and stopped being a "kill-matt" (a derogatory term for someone who flaunts their flamboyant style). But what about Han Qi?
Without the main theme of "revenge," Hanqi is like a heroine who has lost her core, becoming depressed and withered.
Guided by the plot, she tries to find her goal through a desert journey, but she fails.
Han Jiang learned that she wouldn't have gone to Anzhou to help if Elder Chicheng hadn't strongly persuaded her.
"Your Highness, you can leave me here. We're almost at the border of Anzhou, and I can get to Mizhou from here," Hanqi suddenly said.
Han Jiang asked, "Junior Sister, aren't you coming to Jingzhou with us?" Is the female lead going on strike too?!
"I'm not going. You guys are here, so I won't go."
That won't do. Without the female lead, Han Jiang, how would anyone know what the main plot is? The male lead is dead, and Han Qi is the only protagonist left in the whole book. If you want to take advantage of the protagonist's halo, you have to bring Han Qi along.
"Junior sister, there are still elders in Mi Prefecture. Why don't you come with me to Jing Prefecture!"
Han Qi said, "Isn't His Highness with you?"
"I want you to be with me too!" Han Jiang grabbed Han Qi's arm. "If something happens, he probably won't be able to take care of me. Please come with me! I beg you!"
Cang Jingqi reassured himself: "Xiaoman, I can protect you without any problem!"
Han Jiang glared at Cang Jing: "Serves you right for being so talkative!" Turning to Han Qi, she continued, "Junior Sister, I'm very lonely in Jingzhou. When they and the Vermilion Bird Pavilion set off, I'll be all alone..."
Cang Jingqi understood Han Jiang's meaning and said, "That's right, Miss Han Qi, please stay." With that, Cang Jingqi controlled his folding fan, not only not slowing down, but speeding up to cross the Anzhou border and head straight for Jingzhou.
Hanqi had no choice but to agree.
The talisman artist had a close relationship with Han Tian. He was initially displeased to visit in the middle of the night, but upon seeing that Han Tian's two apprentices had arrived, he immediately agreed to help repair the contents of the talisman. He didn't care that repairing a voice transmission talisman involved infringing on someone's privacy; the thought of Han Tian owing him a favor made him extremely happy.
After bidding farewell to the talisman-drawing master, the four rested at the post station in Jingzhou.
Early in the morning, Hanjiang heard noises outside.
Chijin arrived at the post station with a group of people.
"Junior sister, why didn't you tell me you were coming? If the patrolmen hadn't told me last night that you and the Crown Prince were together, I wouldn't have known," Chi Jin greeted her warmly.
Han Jiang instinctively moved away, keeping his distance: "We just arrived too."
The others came out one after another. Cang Jingqi had obviously dressed up and changed into a new set of clothes. He walked up to Han Jiang and said, "Lord Chi Jin, thank you for your trouble. You must be here to discuss the matter of sending troops, right? Let's go to the palace now."
Han Jiang hadn't seen Cang Jingqi's signature smile in a long time—gentle yet aloof. Now, seeing him speaking to Chi Jin, Han Jiang found it rather amusing.
"Your Highness misunderstands. His Majesty has important matters to attend to right now, and the matter of sending troops will probably take some time."
With the Anju rebellion imminent, what could be more important than sending troops to Anju?
Han Jiang asked, "Then when will we enter the palace?"
“The Pavilion Master and His Majesty just finished their discussion yesterday. Your Highness, why don’t you go and meet our Pavilion Master first?” Chi Jin looked at Han Jiang. “As for Junior Sister, if you’re bored, I happen to have some free time. I can show you around Jingzhou City.”
Li Yuan, the head of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, is ruthless and driven by self-interest. During the Three Sects' treasure hunt, he disregarded others' opinions and brazenly awarded the top spot to the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, demonstrating his utter lack of fairness and justice.
This is all the information we have gathered about Hanjiang.
The Vermilion Bird Pavilion token in his possession is of such a high level that it must belong to a high-ranking member of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion; Li Yuan probably wouldn't agree to investigate it. Perhaps he could ask Crimson Gold for help? Isn't he also considered a high-ranking member?
It would be better to discuss it with Cang Jingqi first.
Cang Jingqi refused Chi Jin's offer: "She will go with me to see the Pavilion Master."
"The Pavilion Master said that he only saw one person in the main hall."
Upon hearing Chi Jin's words, Han Jiang felt he couldn't trust him and leaned closer to Cang Jing, saying, "Go see him, I'll wait for you at the post station."
After Cang Jingqi left, Han Jiang arranged for Han Qi to stay in the house, while he went to keep his appointment with Chi Jin.
Pure gold is untrustworthy, but not unusable.
Just in case Hanqi runs around and triggers plot points that Hanjiang is unaware of, she repeatedly told Hanqi to wait for her at the post station and not to go out, assuring her that she would be back soon.
Jingzhou City is twice the size of Yinzhou City, and people dressed in the Zhuque Pavilion can be seen everywhere.
Walking on the street during the cold snap felt very uncomfortable.
Chi Jin led Han Jiang around the city, but every place they stopped at was a guard post of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion. Chi Jin showed her the prosperity and power of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, and the disciples who passed by all bowed to him and respectfully addressed him as "Lord Chi Jin".
“Junior sister, look, this area is under my jurisdiction.” Chi Jin’s tone was filled with pride.
The people next to him were people Han Jiang had met before; they had followed Chi Jin in Yinzhou.
Upon seeing the arrival of the cold season, they almost swarmed around to greet us.
Han Jiang felt uneasy. Chi Jin wasn't showing her around Jingzhou City at all; he was clearly showing off how well he was doing in Jingzhou, just like a relative who would brag about living in a big city during a holiday.
Oh, usually these relatives will bring along a good-looking partner, and then they'll brag about how their partner is completely devoted to them.
Han Jiang thought to himself that he seemed to have become part of the dazzling display of crimson gold.
"She seems to be someone close to the Demon Prince!" someone remarked.
Chi Jin explained, "She was my junior sister when I was in the Four Continents Sect. She was Elder Han Tian's disciple, and recently her master arranged for her to train alongside His Highness."
Alright, no need for Han Jiang to say anything, when you're out and about, your status is given by Chi Jin.
However, with so many people here, it's a good opportunity to get information out of people.
"Hey, all your tokens look different!" Han Jiang said deliberately.
"Of course! Boss Crimson Gold is definitely higher level than us!"
"It's not only high-end, but also beautiful!"
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions.
Han Jiang turned to Chi Jin and asked, "Senior brother, really? Can I take a look?"
"Let me take a look! My junior sister said so!"
It's so much easier when there are lots of people cheering you on. No wonder guys like to confess their love when there are a lot of people around. They manage to keep you in check! Han Jiang finally got to experience being the one being cheered on.
Chi Jin had no choice but to take off his token, but only hold it in his own hand, allowing Han Jiang to admire it from afar.
"It really is beautiful!" Han Jiang said feignedly. "I heard there are even gold-rimmed tokens. Only very important people could have those!"
"Isn't that the Pavilion Master!"
"And Lord Liu..."
Chi Jin forcefully interrupted, "Ahem! Everyone, get back to your own business!"
Lord Liu? Besides the Pavilion Master, the Vermilion Bird Pavilion also has two Deputy Pavilion Masters, but Han Jiang has never heard of them.
"Senior brother, did I ask something I shouldn't have?"
Chi Jin put away his token and said, "The token is a symbol of identity in the Vermilion Bird Pavilion. Discussing the token is equivalent to discussing the person. Why is Junior Sister interested in this?"
"It was just a casual question," Han Jiang quickly changed the subject, "Where are we going next?"
"Lord Chijin!" someone rushed over. "The Pavilion Master requests your immediate attendance at a meeting! Cang Jingye has declared himself king in Anzhou!"
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