Chapter 661 A Letter to the Empress
"What female devil? Explain clearly."
Zhao Duan stared at the indigenous female sorceress crawling in front of him and tried to ask more questions.
Shui Bei didn't dare to look at him and answered hurriedly:
"I'm not exactly sure either. I only know that a few months ago, a female demon came from the East China Sea. She must be a green guest from the earth. Her name is unknown. She roamed around the islands, kidnapped many young and beautiful women, and demanded that Qiandao give up treasures to redeem them.
Refusing to be threatened, the Thousand Islands elders joined forces to apprehend the female demon. Their capture seemed certain, but then the Sea God suddenly became enraged, disrupting the elders' plans...
Therefore, some people speculate that the change in the Sea God is related to that female devil."
"Green Guest"... This is the term used by people on the sea to refer to the cultivators in the martial arts world on land... Are they the strong men in the martial arts world of the Yu Kingdom?
If someone can cause trouble in the East China Sea, he should at least have some worldly realm, right?
There are not many people like this... Zhao Duan was thinking about it when he noticed that Jin Jian's little face next to him changed.
An idea struck him, and he left Shui Bei behind and walked towards the cabin with the others. He looked at the golden tablet:
"What did you guess?"
Jin Jian adjusted his glasses and said hesitantly:
"I'm not sure either, but the female devil she mentioned seems a bit like Third Senior Sister?"
Huh? Zhao Duan suddenly turned his head and stared at Zhang Yanyi, thinking, "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, your female apprentice is still a slut?"
So he came to the East China Sea to rob people of their wealth and women, right?
The old Taoist priest looked at his nose with his eyes, and his nose at his heart, without looking away, as if he didn't hear the conversation at all.
Feeling Zhao Duan's gaze, Zhang Yan's face was burning with anger, and he said unhappily:
"How can we determine who it is with just a few words? Even if... even if it is indeed that traitor, how could a priest of the Heavenly Master's Mansion do such a thing? It must be the local natives who are slandering him."
That makes sense... Zhao Duan nodded and said:
"It seems that the action plan needs to be changed. Given the current situation, the closer we get to the Silent Sea, the tighter the blockade will be.
We can certainly push through, but even with our strength, it would be unwise to confront the entire Thousand Island monks head-on."
Zhang Yanyi nodded slightly:
"What are your plans?"
Zhao Duan suddenly looked at Jiyue next to him and asked:
"How far is Hongshan Island from here?"
Ji Yue had just come back to his senses from the joy of revenge and nodded when he heard this:
"Very close."
Immediately, she seemed to understand Zhao Duan's thoughts and asked tentatively:
"Sir, do you want to go to Hongshan Island first? To further investigate the situation?"
Zhao Duan nodded and said:
"That's right. This Shuibei has limited information, and I need to learn more. By the way, I think the Thousand Islands of the East China Sea are definitely not united, right? What is the relationship between your Hongshan Island and the other islands?"
As a player who is well versed in the political intrigues of the court, Zhao Duan instinctively wants to find a breakthrough.
Win over and divide the enemy.
Jiyue's eyes lit up and she said:
"Hongshan Island is one of the smallest and weakest islands. In my memory, it was often exploited by other islands, such as Jinlun Island, which was controlled by Qingmu.
Back then, when I escaped, some of my relatives on Hongshan Island wanted to help me, but they weren't strong enough to influence the other elders' decisions."
Zhao Duan smiled slightly:
"In that case, let's go to Hongshan Island first."
The others had no objection.
Zhao Duan walked back to the deck, lowered his eyes to look at Shui Bei who was kneeling on the ground, and smiled devilishly:
"Get up, we should get going."
…
…
Capital, Imperial Palace!
The fourth floor of the old building deep in the Wugong Hall where the murals are housed.
The lines on the surface of the stone wall suddenly brightened, and a faint light leaped out from the stone wall and sank into the puppet that was sitting cross-legged on the cushion and looked exactly like the empress.
In an instant, the puppet's eyes, which were originally lifeless, dull and boring, brightened up!
Xu Zhenguan slowly stood up, stretched his limbs, pushed the door open and walked out of the quiet courtyard.
The empress walked down the stairs and headed out of the martial arts hall.
At this moment, she had already broken away from the emotions of Xu Jianwen and Yun Yang, and regained her calm and rationality.
And today, while the troops were on their way to the west, they once again returned to the capital with the help of "visualization".
Prepare to find Zhao Duan to inquire and discuss the next action.
"His Majesty."
When the empress walked to the front yard, Eunuch Hai slowly appeared and saluted her.
"Well, has Zhao Qing come here today?" Xu Zhenguan asked.
Eunuch Hai nodded:
"He came once yesterday afternoon and again this evening. He left a letter with me to be delivered to Your Majesty."
Looking for me twice in a row?
Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, not daring to look down on it. He quickly reached out and picked up the wax-sealed letter that Eunuch Hai handed over with both hands.
And can't wait to open it!
Based on her understanding of Zhao Duan, he would never come to her repeatedly and leave a handwritten letter unless there was something important.
But it’s just one day, what kind of accident could happen?
There were two pieces of paper in the envelope. Soon, the words on the first piece of paper came into view. It was about Princess Wenzhu's escape.
Wenzhu is back? Was she saved by a Red Sect master?
The empress was shocked when she saw the first half, and when she saw the second half, "Xuan Yin and the Dharma King are the same person", her beautiful face suddenly changed color.
She clutched the letter tightly, her mind wandering. After a moment, she came to her senses and let out a deep breath.
"I see……"
At this moment, many doubts in my heart were answered.
Xu Zhenguan looked at the second piece of letter paper again. The upper half described the half-dead banyan tree in Tianshi Mansion, while the lower half contained only a few lines of words.
The general meaning is: He and Zhang Yan and others have set out again.
"His Majesty?"
Eunuch Hai gathered his sleeves and stood quietly for a long time. Seeing that the empress remained silent, he called out carefully.
Xu Zhenguan came to his senses, folded the letter, put it in his arms, and said calmly:
"Is there anything else going on in the city?"
Have a brief conversation with Eunuch Hai.
Xu Zhenguan did not leave the Wugong Hall, but returned to the old building again.
The soul ended its visualization and returned to its original body far away in Xiping Road.
…
In the territory of Xipingdao, on the official road, an entire team led by the emperor was marching forward in a mighty manner.
In the royal carriage of the team, Xu Zhenguan, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes.
At this moment, she noticed that the convoy was slowing down. There was the sound of horse hooves approaching outside the carriage. An officer of the Imperial Guard said:
"Your Majesty, Duke Tang is here personally with his troops to welcome you!"
"I understand. Stop the carriage." The empress's cold and magnetic voice echoed.
Xu Zhenguan adjusted his bright yellow dragon robe and straightened his clothes. He waited until the carriage stopped before he stood up, lifted the curtain, walked a few steps, and stood still on the huge royal carriage.
Thousands of imperial guards were lined up around.
In the front, Duke Tang, who had a limp in one leg, was leading his men in armor to meet them, accompanied by his daughter Tang Zhao.
The old Duke Tang Daren said respectfully:
"Your Majesty, I am here to welcome you, on the orders of Privy Councilor Xue!"
Xu Zhenguan nodded, and his majestic voice echoed throughout the land:
"Thank you, Duke. Advance at full speed immediately and follow me to join the central army. We will drive out the Tartars now!"
All around, tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison:
"Long live His Majesty! Invincible! Victorious in every battle!"
In Xiping, the fighting spirit is unprecedentedly high.
…
…
East China Sea.
The ship flapped its sails and headed towards Hongshan Island like an arrow.
As for the bodies of Aoki and others, they slowly sank to the bottom of the sea along with the huge corpse of the bone whale.
Nearly two hours later, the ship docked at the pier of an island.
"This is Hongshan Island!"
On the deck, Ji Yue looked at the land that gave birth to her with complicated eyes.
At the dock, several young and strong men from Hongshan Island who were in charge of guarding the area saw a ship approaching and were as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Because it was an "angry moon", sailing on the sea was extremely dangerous, especially since the style of this ship was very different from local ships, which made it obviously unusual.
"Commander Shuibei?"
A young man was surprised to see the plump, round-faced sorceress coming down from the boat.
"Didn't you go out with the patrol? Who are they?"
Shui Bei was relieved at first when she saw her tribesmen, but then she thought of the terrifying strength of the people on the boat behind her, and she became uneasy again. She forced a smile and solemnly warned:
"The people on board are friends from afar, coming to see the island owner. I'll go and inform them right away. Please stay put and don't disturb the distinguished guests on board. Got it?"
Several young men were stunned, but it was obvious that Shui Bei, who had the cultivation level of Shenzhang Realm, was also the number one "strong man" on the island, so they hurriedly bowed and agreed.
Shui Bei breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head to look at the high side of the ship, and then quickly ran towards the center of the island.
Zhao Duan did not choose to force his way onto the island, but let her go and report first. On the one hand, this was a kind of "respect" for Hongshan Island.
In addition, it also reveals another signal: that is, I don’t care.
It seemed that no matter what Shuibei did, even if all the strong men on Hongshan Island united, Captain Zhao would not take it seriously.
Shui Bei didn't know whether it was right or wrong to bring the other party here, but she knew that with Ji Yue here, it made no difference whether she led the way or not.
Under the sorceress's robe, her strong and slender legs ran quickly and soon arrived at a building in the center of the island.
Most of the houses here are built with white stone and wood. In order to better withstand typhoons, the walls are not square, but like low pillars with pointed eaves on top.
The people on the island live in these strangely shaped houses.
"Huh?"
Shuibei soon discovered that the houses on the island were extremely quiet, and the residents were not at home. However, in the square outside the largest and most luxurious house where the island owner lived in the distance, there were many people gathered.
At this moment, the residents of the island were discussing something fiercely. They seemed very indignant, and the atmosphere was mixed with despair and powerlessness.
"What happened? Why are you all gathered here? Where is the island owner?"
Shuibei was surprised and asked a familiar friend.
"Shuibei? You're back?"
"Oh, you don't know yet?"
Several familiar faces looked over.
An older man shook his head bitterly and said:
"It's a sacrifice. The island's elders' council just sent someone with an order saying that the sea god will be angry early this year. We're afraid something bad will happen, so we're preparing for an early sacrifice."
Shui Bei was startled and said subconsciously:
"As I recall, this year's festival will be held on Kinwajima Island, where Aoki serves as the island's master."
A young man said indignantly:
"That's how it should be, but the Council of Elders said the sea is unsettled this year, and they're worried that just one person won't be safe, so they need to add another person on short notice. It's said that Elder Qingmu has proposed that we on Hongshan Island send one person to be fed to the Sea God!"
Shui Bei was stunned again. She had known nothing about this when she followed Qing Mu out before. She just said angrily instinctively:
"Why? Why us? It's obviously not our turn no matter how it goes!"
A woman with a sad face:
“It is said that Elder Qingmu said that when Jiyue disobeyed the decision of the Elder Council and defected from the island, the blame should be borne by all of us on Hongshan Island, so he asked us to send another person.
The island owner is currently discussing this matter in his house, and everyone is in a state of panic. Shuibei, your age falls within the range of the sacrifice, so you should hide quickly and say you are out patrolling the forbidden sea..."
Shuibei listened to all this in a daze, and everywhere he looked, he saw the expressions of the island residents, some of them were worried, some were sad, some were angry, and some were powerless.
This is the weak.
In the East China Sea, where the culture of respecting the strong prevails, the residents of each island are clearly divided into different levels, just like the food chain in the sea.
The weak Hongshan Island was bullied, and no matter how angry it was, it could not resist the will of the entire Elders' Council.
Even Aoki alone can defeat them.
"Don't worry, no one can force us anymore," Shui Bei suddenly said coldly:
"Aoki is dead."
——
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
