Chapter 170: The Letter Is Short, the Feelings Are Deep

The human delegation left Shengjing and headed north in the brilliant morning light.

However, there was still an endless stream of disciples of immortal sects and nobles from the capital on the street, gathering in teahouses and taverns to discuss things, and the specific topic was still about Ji You.

After all, this place is closest to Tianshu Academy, and they are most familiar with Ji You.

However, in these discussions, there are usually not many good words, and they are almost the same as those in the inner courtyard, which is enough to make people's ears callused.

If a rural private practitioner cannot get rid of his narrow vision, he will sell his life at a low price.

Some people also thought that he did not lay the groundwork for the development of his family, but chose to offend the major immortal sects, so that he could not even enter the immortal palace.

Some people also said that Ji You had really been lured by silver and almost got himself killed, but he still didn't learn his lesson, so the whole audience laughed.

Such remarks were common under the bright blue sky and became the laughing stock in teahouses and taverns.

However, things like this can be just for fun, what everyone is more concerned about is the outcome of this trip, or how the situation will change in the future. After all, this matter is closely related to them.

The vested interests of the world are all like this. They feel that their lives nowadays are easy and comfortable. Even if they cannot become immortals, they are free and unrestrained, not much different from immortals. They are just afraid of chaos.

"Whether it's trade or receiving barbarian envoys, the demon tribe's intentions have never been good. I said this before, and now it has been proven true..."

"Yes, the demon race has always had wicked ambitions."

"This time, the Demon Emperor will definitely wait for a price and ask for benefits. If we refuse, war may be unavoidable."

"Then... maybe we cultivators should also join the battle?"

"There's no need to worry too much about this. Those who go to the battlefield first will definitely be those with inferior backgrounds and connections to us."

"If Hantie Pass cannot be defended, Yunzhou will be in dire straits."

"Yunzhou has many spiritual mines and has always been a highly valued place. If we break with the demon clan and lose the Snow Region Demon Stone, the land of Yunzhou cannot be abandoned. I think Fengzhou will be the one who suffers."

"Toyosu...?"

"The area is vast and sparsely populated, there are no spiritual mines, and there are only mortals there, which makes it extremely suitable for fighting. If I were the head of an immortal sect, I would send my powerful men to move mountains and block the road in Yunzhou, and lead the enemy army to Fengzhou to start the battle."

"Won't the children in Fengzhou never grow up, and have difficulty returning home after leaving home?"

"Hmm? What's the story behind this?"

"Hahaha, that's Ji You's famous saying. It was the crazy wish he made when he established his family in Fengzhou. He said he wanted children to grow up, people who left home to return home, and..."

Amidst the laughter and conversation, the young man from the noble family who spoke was suddenly stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look outside the pavilion, towards the direction where the convoy left.

In the autumn city of Shengjing, the autumn wind blows through, and the ground is covered with golden fallen leaves, which makes the scene look desolate.

The noise of others also stopped abruptly at this moment. After looking at each other, they lowered their heads and frowned. Their eyes sometimes narrowed and sometimes widened, and finally their expressions became thoughtful.

Just on this long street lined with restaurants, as the crowd dispersed, two figures walked by.

One of them is Princess Changle of Chongwang Mansion, and the other is Dou Yuankong, the son of Minister Dou.

However, the atmosphere between the two seemed a little quiet.

"In fact, the breakup between the demon race and our human race may not be without benefits for us. Previously, the Yunzhou Stone and Zhongzhou Stone were always under our control. Later, the Snow Region Demon Stone entered our territory and we lost our monopoly on the spiritual stone channel. But after this incident, everything may be back on track."

Zhao Yunyue had a cold face and walked forward silently.

Dou Yuankong was silent for a while, then he bowed and said, "I know the princess has feelings for Ji You, but... he is really a bit too much. Not only did he support that scholar, but he also emptied my wallet. I had no choice but to set a trap to kill him with this ingenious plan."

"This matter...is not a problem."

"The princess doesn't blame me?"

Dou Yuankong couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he heard her calm tone.

Zhao Yunyue looked forward calmly: "I was interested in Ji You because he entered the inner courtyard and his physique can be passed on. I wanted to give birth to an heir with him, but he didn't choose me. Why should I blame you for him?"

"I was a little resentful when my Taoist partner proposal was rejected, but now I think I was lucky, because the diplomatic mission made me realize that he was just a petty country bumpkin after all."

"To live in this world, you can't just rely on your extraordinary talent to settle everything. What's more important is vision and planning. So no matter how strong a person is, it's hard to accomplish anything. From this point of view, he is not worthy of me."

Dou Yuankong nodded, agreeing with this statement: "It's like this in the world. Your origin determines your height."

Zhao Yunyue raised the corner of his mouth: "However, although your plan was fueled by the major families and the top leaders of Tianshu Academy, it did surprise me."

"Your Highness, you are too kind. That night I heard the news that the Barbarians' envoys were heading to the Monsters. It just so happened that the Monsters' envoys were right next to me, so I had the right time, right place, and right people."

Dou Yuankong was very humble, but in fact he was also somewhat proud of himself.

Ji You, who claimed to be unparalleled in swordsmanship and extremely talented, and who even the Chu family could not do anything to him, was now being played around in his hands. How could he not be inflated?

"Where can they go today?"

"We can probably reach Yunzhou, and it will probably take two days to get out of Hantie Pass."

Zhao Yunyue's eyes trembled slightly: "He is probably still enjoying himself now. He will not understand what a fatal disaster is until three days later, and he will regret it."

At this moment, there was a loud noise suddenly coming from the front, and the sound of horses neighing echoed throughout the street.

The two of them looked up at the same time and found that they had arrived at Wei Li's residence without realizing it.

The source of the noise was right in front of the Wei Mansion. Wei Rui was leading her horse and wanted to go out, but was stopped on the street by the Wei Mansion's housekeeper and the servants. The horses were frightened as they tried to stop her and try to dodge.

Dou Yuankong frowned instantly: "Stop!"

The Wei Mansion's housekeeper turned around with sweat on his forehead. Seeing that it was them, he immediately bowed and saluted: "I greet Princess Changle and Master Dou."

Zhao Yunyue took a step forward with a frosty face: "How can you pull someone in the street?"

"Princess, it's not that I'm being rude, I just have no other choice. The master and the old man are not at home right now, and my young lady insisted on riding a horse to Hantie Pass, and she wouldn't listen no matter how I persuade her..."

Zhao Yunyue was slightly stunned: "Go to Hantie Pass?"

Dou Yuankong was also stunned: "Rui'er, what are you doing at Hantie Pass?"

Wei Rui looked at the two with red eyes: "If they go to Hantie Pass, they will die."

Zhao Yunyue and Wei Rui have a sisterly relationship, and she also knows about her relationship with Kuang Cheng. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but say, "The Immortal Supervisor's Jieying Division will only escort the delegation to Hantie Pass, and will separate inside the pass. The man surnamed Kuang doesn't need to go to the Snow Region, and he won't be in danger."

"No!"

"?"

"Master Kuang said that if Hantie Pass cannot be defended, the immortal cultivators will definitely set up the barren and useless Fengzhou as a battlefield. In fact, when Daxia was first founded, we were already worried that the barbarians who fled to the Shiwan Mountains would counterattack one day, so we have always kept Fengzhou for this purpose!"

"Master Ji has understood this a long time ago, so he left with a sword in hand, this time to live in the face of death! Master Kuang said that although he is not as strong as Master Ji, if a war really breaks out, he can also choose to die in the front!"

Wei Rui was holding a letter in her hand, with only two lines of words on it.

How much ink can express the love and hate between heaven and earth? The mountains and rivers thousands of miles long will not accommodate me.

The time in this world is short and love is hard to keep.

The scholar was pedantic, stubborn and propriety-conscious, and had never spoken so bluntly before.

As soon as the words fell, Zhao Yunyue and Dou Yuankong's heads suddenly buzzed and their eyes slowly widened.

This is the border between Zhongzhou and Yunzhou.

The huge convoy of diplomatic missions set out from Shengjing, headed north, and sped along the official road of Daxia, raising a cloud of dust.

Because there were so many people in the delegation and the gifts they brought were piled up like a mountain, they could not take the fairy ship. However, in order to ensure speed, a magic weapon was embedded in the center of the bottom of each carriage.

This magical weapon is powered by spiritual stones and can use its powerful energy to support the entire chariot, reducing the weight on the horses and thus increasing speed.

However, because the official roads of Daxia had been in disrepair for a long time, these magical instruments caused the bumps in the road to become increasingly severe.

The autumn breeze was refreshing here. In the bumpy carriage, Ji You was wiping the swords he brought with him. Including the one in his hand, there were fifty swords in total.

The limitation of his divine consciousness prevented him from being distracted too many times, and thus he could not use fifty swords to achieve the effect of seven swords splitting.

But if all swords are used in one move, then the spiritual power can be saved to the greatest extent.

He had used fifty-three swords during the battle at Tianshuyuan. Now, because there was more flour, he added water, and because there was more water, he added more flour. It should be more than before.

Ban Yangshu Na also asked him why he didn't buy some more since the number of his controls had already exceeded fifty.

Ji You was actually helpless, because fifty swords was not his limit, but it was almost the limit of the Directorate...

When he was shopping at Qionghua Pavilion, he was always very careful and kept the amount within the limit they could afford.

【The Kindness of Robbers】

But the main problem was that Cao Jinsong's birthday peach was really too expensive. He basically couldn't afford it in his entire life working at Tianshuyuan.

Ji You was wiping his sword and saw that the sky began to darken a little as he walked.

At this time, the delegation's convoy had already gone deep into Yunzhou and arrived at Hexing City, which was famous for the sale of spirit stones. They saw that both sides of the main road into the city were lined with spirit stone businesses, and even a gambling stone industry had developed.

Ji You waved his sleeves lightly, and a stream of spiritual energy whizzed out. The door curtain of the carriage was lifted onto the ceiling. Then he looked towards the shops on both sides.

With just one glance, he knew that he had made a bad purchase on the longevity peach.

At this time, the convoy slowly stopped in the city and arrived at the Lai Shi Inn which was booked by the Sixianjian before departure.

They will not go deeper into Yunzhou. After passing Xinghe City, the convoy will go eastward along the edge of the northern border and pass through the northwest of Fengzhou to avoid the barbarian army outside Hantie Pass.

So, they will rest here tonight.

At this time, the geniuses of the immortal sects had already gotten off the car and were looking around with great dignity.

Previously in Shengjing City, there were so many people and Ji You didn't pay much attention to them. It was only now that he was able to confirm their identities one by one based on the rumors he had heard in the past few days.

The one wearing a golden crown and a blue silk shirt is Jiang Chenfeng from the Wendao Sect. He comes from the Jiang family, a thousand-year-old aristocratic family, and has always been related to the Wendao Sect by marriage.

If we go by relationship, Jiang Chenfeng should call Shang Xiyao, the direct disciple of the Holy Spirit, his cousin.

He was accompanied by his cousin Jiang Yan and another disciple Tu Xu.

As soon as they landed, a man in a black brocade robe with a straight-blade broadsword tied around his waist walked towards Jiang Chenfeng and greeted him with a bow. It was Huo Hong from Shanhai Pavilion, and behind him were his junior brother Lu Dacheng and junior sister Jiang Yuerou.

It is said that Huo Hong is the half-brother of Huo Xingzhong, the Holy Son of Shanhai Pavilion. He had always been fostered outside the sect and was later accepted into the sect, but he had never been acknowledged.

It is said that someone once asked Huo Xingzhong about this matter, and Huo Xingzhong's disdain was particularly obvious.

But perhaps because of this experience, Huo Hong worked very hard. Thirty-one years old is still considered young in the world of immortal cultivation, but he has been in seclusion for more than 20 years. This is one of the few times he has come out of seclusion, and he has already reached the middle stage of Rong Dao.

Although he has not been in seclusion many times, Huo Hong actually has many rumors in the world of immortal cultivation.

Some people say that he is vicious and cruel, and often tortures disciples in the pavilion for fun.

Afterwards, Yan Qiubai and Xie Chenyu from Lingjian Mountain also came over.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Yan Qiubai is from Tianjian Peak and is the distant niece of the headmaster Yan Zhong. Xie Chenyu is a distant relative of the master of Tianjian Peak.

The relationship between the three sects in the south is better than that between the three sects in the north, so it is not surprising that they come together at this time.

"This Yunzhou is a really nice place, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and a vast expanse of land, but it's a little dry."

"I've been in seclusion for a long time, so it's nice to come out for a walk."

"Oh, Junior Brother Jiang, I forgot to ask you before. During the Tiandao meeting, I had a good chat with Senior Brother Shang from your sect. I heard that he had been in seclusion for a long time when he came out a few days ago. I wonder when he will break out of it?"

"The time is not far away."

"The young master of Lingjian Mountain is also in seclusion, right? I'm afraid the two of them made an appointment..."

"Maybe I can see them before the Tiandao meeting..."

Just like ordinary immortal cultivators often discuss geniuses like them, the geniuses also have their own geniuses in their hearts that they cannot catch up with even if they sacrifice their lives, and they always talk about them.

They will even specifically talk about things that happened to them and be proud of them.

The two people who got off the carriage opposite them were from Xuanyuan Immortal Palace. One of them was named Chu Butian, and was naturally from the Chu family, but was not well-known. The other was called Qian Jun, and was accompanied by an elder from the palace.

The Chen family's immortal clan was severely damaged by the previous incident in Qiling, so they only sent an elder from the Wujiang Realm and a disciple from the Rongdao Realm.

At this time, the elders of the six major immortal sects gathered together, with cold expressions and unfathomable aura, and entered the inn first.

Ji Youci got off the car and looked up, he saw countless towering cities and manors with pavilions and towers lined up in the distance under the night sky.

Yunzhou is world-famous for its spiritual mineral resources, which bring huge profits. When he first entered Tianshu Academy, Lu Qingqiu's wealthy temperament really surprised him for a long time.

"Compared to this place, our Fengzhou is really a barbaric place."

"It's just whitewashing the situation, but the people's suffering is the same."

Kuang Cheng got off the car and couldn't help but say, "The people of Yunzhou all rely on the mines of the noble families for their livelihood, but they still need to pay tribute. The young and strong laborers can go to the mines and still have a full meal, but the old, weak and young have an extremely difficult life, which is not much better than Fengzhou."

Ji You frowned slightly: "If the young ones can't survive, how can there be young and strong people?"

"So these Lingshi families are very smart. They realized this early on, so they allowed the local people to foster children."

“What is foster care?”

Kuang Cheng stood beside the carriage and looked at the brightly lit pavilion in front of him and said, "There is an institution in Yunzhou called a foster home, which was founded by a local noble family. If miners cannot afford to raise their children at home, they can choose to give them to the foster home for raising."

Ji You looked at him and said, "I don't think this is a charity organization, otherwise the people of Yunzhou would not flee to Fengzhou during the White Dew season."

"Yes, this foster home is indeed not a charity. Every day, the foster children will be charged a huge debt. It can be said that they are already heavily in debt from the moment they are born. When those children grow up, they will be sold to the spirit mines because of the debt and will mine spirit stones for the rest of their lives."

Kuang Cheng paused and continued, "About 30% of the households in Yunzhou have already fallen into the trap, while the other 70% still need to pay tribute every year."

Ji You's eyes flashed with doubt: "It's already like this, are there still people willing to have children?"

"In the beginning, there were indeed people who would rather not have any offspring than have any more, but the noble families tempted them with money. If they had a son, they would get ten taels of silver, which would allow them to continue having children."

"How is this different from selling your child?"

Kuang Cheng shook his head: "There is no difference, but the word foster care sounds better."

Have babies, mine, have more babies, and mine again.

Those ignorant kids probably never thought that they were born to be slaves of immortals.

Ji You turned around and saw that there were countless bones under the pavilions and towers: "I said that bandits are a sunrise industry."

"Um?"

"There are too many noble families that should be robbed. However, a small village is far from enough. It must be as big as Tianshu Village to do it."

At this moment, under the night sky, countless sedan chairs decorated with flowers suddenly appeared and flew into the sky. The spiritual energy under the sedan chairs surged, causing endless waves.

And in the wind and waves, various flags with family crests printed on them were fluttering.

Afterwards, the sedan chair landed in front of the inn where they were going to stay, and a group of middle-aged men in luxurious clothes and wearing hats got off. They all had high cultivation bases and were probably the elders and priests of the major families in Yunzhou.

They all held gold-painted visiting cards in their hands and then rushed into the inn.

A delegation from the capital will be heading to the Snow Region, and the geniuses from various major immortal sects will be accompanying and escorting them. This matter is no secret among the aristocratic families.

So since they set out on their journey, many noble families in Yunzhou have prepared visiting cards, hoping to invite them to live a life of luxury while they are resting in the city.

Ji You and Kuang Cheng were standing outside the inn. With the help of the lights inside, they saw both parties stand up, bow to each other, exchange greetings, and then one of them extended his hand to invite the other to follow.

Those from the three major sects in the north received the most visiting cards. After all, Yunzhou was in the north and needed to be taken care of by the northern immortal sects.

And people from the Southern Immortal Sect were also invited. After all, these people were all noble clients to them.

In the blink of an eye, all the geniuses here were invited out, and even the elders of the immortal sects left with their hands behind their backs.

In the night, some people saw the immortal flying in the sky, and they all trembled all over and fell to their knees.

At this moment, someone handed Ji You a visiting card.

"Master Ji, my master is hosting a banquet at home and would like to invite you to come. Please do me the honor."

"Who is the head of your family?"

"I am from the Lu family, my name is Lu Zhong. My eldest daughter and Master Ji are classmates at Tian Academy. Should I understand what you are saying?"

Ji You took the visiting card, glanced at it, and handed it back with a smile: "Your young lady and I are indeed friends, but forget about the banquet. I have been riding in a carriage all day today, and my appetite is not very good. I can't eat such bloody food."

Lu Zhong looked at him strangely, thought for a while, took the visiting card, bowed and left, but did not go back in the sedan chair, but went into the inn.

At this time in the inn, the head of the Lu family, dressed in a gorgeous robe with gold thread, was inviting Elder Ge from the inner courtyard of the Tianshu Academy.

Upon hearing that Ji You was not coming, the head of the Lu family frowned and looked outside the door.

He had always known about Ji You's defeat of Chu He and his entry into the inner courtyard, and he also knew a little about his daughter's desire to become his Taoist partner.

It is said that this person came from a very poor background. He would go to every banquet and make money wherever he could, but he never expected to be rejected.

But it doesn't matter.

There are so many cultivators coming to Xinghe City tonight. Ji You is the one with the lowest cultivation level, and he is also a rural private cultivator who doesn't fit in.

For these Yunzhou families, one more or one less of him wouldn't make much difference, so there was no need to invite him.

Kuang Cheng looked up at Ji You at this time: "Brother Ji told me before that if you don't eat it, it will be a bargain for those immortal cultivators, and if you eat it, they will be more involved in other people's business."

"If you hadn't told me about the foster home, I might have gone to eat there, but after hearing all this, I really have no appetite. You owe me this meal..."

"?"

"Save up your money, and you'll treat me to a good meal when you come back."

Kuang Cheng looked up at the sedan chairs that were leaving: "But it would be a pity not to rob these ill-gotten gains."

Ji You turned and looked at him: "How come a scholar like you suddenly became so wise?"

Kuang Cheng pursed his lips and said, "I heard in Yuyang County that Brother Ji wanted to be a gangster. I didn't understand and thought you were just starving. It wasn't until I read countless case files in the Sixian Prison that I realized that this was the right way."

"Let's go and eat something first. I'm afraid we won't find a place to rest after entering Fengzhou. Our poor place..."

Ji You walked towards the inn, ordered a few side dishes with Kuang Cheng, and sat down at the table.

In fact, not everyone was asked to leave. For example, all the envoys stayed.

After all, officials are not as good as immortals. In the eyes of these immortal families, no matter how high their official positions are, these people are still ants and are not worthy of being invited home for a banquet or something.

The officials watched as the immortals left for the banquet, but they were angry but dared not say anything.

They had a long way to go on this journey and needed to be cautious. The most taboo thing was to avoid unexpected events. At this point they could only sigh and lower their heads to eat, but their hearts were beating fast.

These escorts obviously have their own ideas, and it is really unknown whether they can be sent into the snowy area.

At this time, some of the envoys couldn't help but look at Ji You.

(End of this chapter)